I've Dreamed of Legends
by baozito3
Summary: Five years ago, Master Hand of Smash Kingdom called together an elite group of fighters to protect the universe. Though they differed from each other in many ways, the Smashers managed to join together and fight with amazing success... until they were defeated by an unstoppable force. Now, they receive one last chance to right their mistake, but can they succeed against such odds?
1. Prologue

_Hey everyone! This is my first SSB fanfiction so I don't have much to say except enjoy! It would also be great to receive some feedback.^^_

* * *

Prologue

His screams fell on deaf ears as he watched the world collapse.

The entire forest around them was shaking. As he watched, a tree, twisting and breaking, was lifted into the air, uprooted by some invisible force and thrown in his direction. It hurtled across space towards him and just when he thought the impact would shatter all of his bones, just when it was about to hit him, it was suddenly brought to a stop and snapped in half like a twig.

He reached out and felt the invisible force field that was surrounding him at arm's length. It wouldn't break, not from the outside or the inside, and he was forced to helplessly watch as pieces of debris whipped around killing all those who were not inside the portals. Space itself was becoming warped and the distant mountains shook.

He looked down to see a glowing blue disk beneath his feet. He tried to step off it but the invisible wall was holding him back. With all his might, he attacked at it, but it stayed stubbornly intact, shielding him from all harm as black material engulfed the world outside. He could do nothing but watch. Watch and scream his horror to no one who could hear.

Though he was stiff from shock, he could make out a tingling sensation spreading throughout his body. It wasn't new to him; he knew exactly what was happening. The portal has activated and the teleportation will soon take place. He knew he won't be coming back. And he wasn't ready yet. No… no. He needed more time, needed to save everyone.

He could see the faces of his friends. Some were crying. Others were pounding their fists helplessly against their own invisible prison. A few were attacking it with all that they had though it still refused to budge. Some were lying still on their portal, not moving at all.

Master Hand was still outside in the middle of the vortex, conjuring up the spell with the last of his strength. He knew what Master Hand was trying to do and he'd be damned if he just sat here and watched. He punched the portal walls until his hands bled, refusing to believe that he was losing feeling in his entire body for that meant that the portal was working and that he didn't have much time left.

He suddenly realized he was starting to disappear. No… He could see his friends starting to disappear.

No… no…

How could it end like this?

There was something different about the despair that enveloped him as his aching body crumpled to the ground, utterly and pathetically defeated. Never had he felt such crushing grief in his life. Never so void of hope. There had always, _always, _been some hope. So what had happened this time?

Just when he accepted that there was nothing left he could do, he lifted his head to get one last glimpse of the ruined world. Smash Kingdom. He'll never be here again.

His last sight was of Master Hand, who, after seeing that his work was completed and that all the Smashers would be safe, now lay still on the ground.

His last thought was Master Hand's last words.

_Continue to carry on your own legends._

And then, he faded away in a flash of light as the outside world was sucked into its doom.


	2. Chapter 1

_Wow thanks for the reviews you guys! Here's the next chapter, enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter One**

_The Prince of Altea gazed out of his window and smiled as he watched a flock of birds fly off into the distance. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and peace was returning to his country at last. He felt that he could finally relax and take a ride around without needing to take any guards with him, although his father would've disapproved. _

_He smiled and took a deep breath as a gust of wind blew past. He finally had some free time now._

_Marth was just about to walk out of his room when he spotted something glowing out of the corner of his eye. The glowing got brighter and brighter and startled the prince who drew his sword as he watched. A small pendant emerged out of the air and floated, bobbling up and down, as if waiting for him to take hold. The metal glistened in a rainbow of colours in the afternoon sun. _

_Marth cautiously lowered his sword and walked up to it. It seemed harmless. A simple, strange design, a cross like shape, was engraved on the front. _

_The prince slowly reached out and closed his hand around it. Not even a second after he touched it, a circular disk took form on the ground beneath him and began glowing in a soft blue light. Marth didn't even have to cry out as he watched himself fade away._

* * *

As Marth gazed at the land of Altea from his balcony, a gust of wind blew past him. He closed his eyes and smiled. It was going to be a good day.

Not even a second after he thought that, a guard knocked on his door and entered.

"Prince Marth, the Greil Mercenary has returned," he announced giving a bow.

Marth perked up. "Are they at the gate?" he asked grabbing his cloak.

"Yes, sir."

"Great!"

Marth walked briskly into the castle hall and when he reached the courtyard, he broke into a run. He had been waiting for this for a really long time. The Greil Mercenary hardly ever stayed put in one place. They were always on the road, going wherever their jobs took them, and the last time they stopped by in Altea had been more than a month ago.

Marth heard them before he saw them. He stopped running when he reached the front gate and spotted his close friend tending to the horses.

"Ike!" Marth called out. The spikey haired warrior was slightly taller than Marth and had the golden sword Ragnell strapped at his waist. He had dark blue eyes that were focused seriously as he worked but when Ike looked up to see his greeter and his face broke into a grin.

"Hey, Marth!" he cried. "How's it going?" His sister, Mist, gave him a little slap on his head as she scolded him for addressing the prince in such a casual manner but he just laughed it off.

Marth greeted Mist and the others and chatted with them for a while but when he saw Ike leading the horses to the stables, he ran to catch up. "So where'd you go this time?" he asked eagerly. "You were gone for pretty long."

"Helped rid a village of bandits," Ike replied, shrugging. "Nothing much. Just the usual, I guess."

"Details, Ike," Marth chided. He was a bit envious of the freedom his friend possessed. Being a prince, Marth hardly ever got to leave Altea nowadays and when he did, he was always accompanied by dozens of soldiers and guards. Ike on the other hand, got to roam the kingdom and travel to places Marth couldn't even dream of.

As they fed and watered the horses, Ike described his trip and Marth listened with rapt attention.

"They really were nothing," Ike scoffed. "Mist could've taken them out herself, and that's saying something. Don't tell her I said that."

Marth laughed. How he wished he could go on an adventure. By now, he hardly cared less about the danger and only yearned for thrill and excitement of a journey.

"Then take me with you next time," Marth said. "Please, please? I'm going to die of boredom here."

Ike smirked. "Oh, I don't think so. The King will kill me."

Marth huffed. "How long are you staying in Altea this time?" he asked. Because they had such a good reputation and their fathers became good friends, the Greil Mercenaries were always offered a place to stay at the castle whenever they stopped by.

Ike sighed. "Probably… probably only a few days."

Marth had to swallow his disappointment. "Only a few days?"

"Yeah… currently there're a lot of jobs."

"I… I see."

Ike smiled apologetically at him. "You know, when we were little, you never liked going out of the castle. Now, every time I see you, you're always either bombarding me with questions or trying to sneak out somehow."

"There's nothing to do here," Marth huffed. He took out a brush and started scrubbing the horses down as Ike filled their trough with water. "I'm tired of staying in the castle all day with no one but advisers and professors to talk to. I want to leave the city and travel into the woods! Climb a mountain! Sail into the ocean! Fight something!"

"Fight something?" Ike raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Bandits! Monsters! Anything!" Marth grinned when he saw a glint flash through Ike's eyes.

Ike tossed him a broom. "You and your crazy sense of adventure… really, you haven't changed at all in these last five years," he mused, grabbing a rake for himself.

"That's not true," Marth said, putting down his brush. "I've gotten rusty. Everyone here at the castle doesn't fight me seriously. It's no fun."

Ike didn't even give him a chance to prepare. One moment, he was still standing at the other side of the trough. The next, he had jumped over and was aiming the blunt end of the rake at Marth's head.

Marth stopped thinking. Adrenaline rushed through him as he dodged just enough for the rake to brush against his hair. He couldn't help but grin as he counter attacked, thrusting the broom like a spear. He missed Ike however, and ended up knocking over a stack of hay instead. Straws of hay exploded everywhere around the two swordsmen as they hesitated, waiting for the other to make the next move.

"Whoa Ike," Marth chuckled. "Didn't know we were so eager today."

"Well, you complained about being bored!" Ike said, blowing the hay out of his face. "Don't want to bore you now, do we, my prince?" The mercenary was smiling too, as he slowly drew closer, both his hands gripping the rake tightly.

"Getting serious now, are we?"

"Well, you said you've gotten rusty but you're still as good as before. I was about to make the mistake of going easy on you this time."

"Aw, but I am out of practice! Come on, let me win once, please?" Marth parried another blow to his face and pouted. "Ike, I would prefer to keep my face the way it is. Can't you aim elsewhere?" He managed to get in a blow to the mercenary's side before backing off to catch his breath.

"Well, if you say so."

"Whoa!" Even though Ike took a hit, it didn't seem to affect him at all as he charged towards Marth and directed a kick at his chest. Marth ducked and rolled just in time as Ike's boot smashed into the stable door behind him and broke a hole right through the wood.

Marth stared at Ike who stared back.

"Um… sorry about that," Ike said, slowly backing his foot out of the hole he made.

Marth blinked. "Nah, it's okay," he replied, trying to rid himself of the shivers that were crawling up his back. Marth knew he could've broken a rib from that kick but he still couldn't help feeling disappointed that their fight ended so soon.

Ike scratched his head as he lowered the rake. "Man, last time I destroyed a window. This time, it's the stable door. Your dad's gonna kick us out soon."

Marth laughed. "Hey, it's not just you. I blew a hole through a door once, remember? But I guess we should clean up now… and leave the fighting for later."

"Yup…"

They did their best with the half destroyed barn, sweeping up the hay and putting their "weapons" away. A comfortable silence filled the stable as they worked and Marth felt his mind begin to wander.

"Don't you miss those days?" Marth could tell his question caught his friend by surprise. His abruptness surprised himself. Marth knew he was bringing up a delicate subject that was probably best left alone but there was one else in Altea except Ike whom he could talk to about Smash Kingdom.

Ike hesitated. "You think it'd get easier after a few years," He murmured. "But to tell you the truth, I still think of them all the time."

Marth didn't need to answer for Ike to know that he felt the same way. He instead averted his gaze to the feeding animals.

It had been five years since they left Smash Kingdom for good. Five years had passed since they last saw their friends. Marth had tried to keep himself busy by involving himself in his country's politics but it seemed that no matter how much he hide, how much he tried to push it away, he could never forget his greatest failure.

"Hey do you…" Marth hesitated. "Do you still think we'll get the chance to go back there again?"

Ike frowned.

Marth knew the chances were close to none. The universe was made up of different worlds and the only way to travel to other worlds was through magical doorways called portals. That was how Master Hand had recruited Marth and Ike to his kingdom. Master Hand, ruler of Smash Kingdom, had taught them many things but they never learned exactly how he controlled the portals.

"If we find some way to get our teleporters to work again, then I guess there's always the chance," Ike finally replied, fishing something out of his pocket. It was the pendant with the oddly shaped cross. After they were sent back to their world, Ike and Marth had tried all that they could to find a way back to Smash Kingdom but to no avail. The little pendant had stopped working and they never got to find out what happened to everyone else.

Marth stared at the teleporter. "Ike."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"If you could, would you still want to go back?" Marth asked. "I mean, it has been years and it really seems hopeless to want something so impossible. And it's safe here. We can go on with our lives peacefully."

Ike stared into Marth's blue eyes and for a while didn't speak. Then, Marth smiled inwardly when he saw a tiny twinge of annoyance flicker over the mercenary's face.

"Of course I need to go back," Ike replied. "You should know that I would take the first chance I get. Yeah, it's dangerous but how can I live with myself knowing that I left things like _that_? I can't_._" He turned around and walked over to the window, frowning as he brooded.

Marth stared at him for a while and suddenly gave a small laugh. The mercenary would never change. But that was what he liked about him. "Let's go grab some food," Marth suggested. "Then I'll tell you what I've been up to."

Ike blinked in surprise and nodded. "Sure, I could use some food."

Marth had just finished locking up the stable doors when the sudden sound of a warning trumpet blasted through the air. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden commotion from inside the castle.

"What's going in?" Ike asked, looking around. His eyes suddenly widened. "Are we under attack?"

"I don't know," Marth answered slowly. Someone was ringing the bells on the highest tower, which could be heard by the majority of town. It was a sure sign that something was up. "Follow me." He took off towards the castle throne room with Ike close behind. The sound of the bells was louder in the inside of the castle. It pounded through Marth's ears as it echoed off the walls. As they rounded a corner, they ran into a couple of guards that were whispering to each other, looking as they had seen a ghost. Marth stopped one of them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Marth cried.

The guard saw his face and spluttered, "Pr-Prince Marth! The Shield of Seals has been stolen! It's gone!"


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Lucas had to swallow back his panic. One minute ago, he was just watching TV. In the next moment, he decided to touch the little floating token that had appeared out of nowhere and now, he somehow ended up in the middle of a large stadium of some sort with a bunch of other weird people. …Some of them weren't even human. Beside him stood a pink puffball, staring at him oddly._

"_W-what's going on?" Lucas tried asking it._

_The creature shook his head. "I dunno."_

"_Y-you can talk!"_

"_So can you."_

_Lucas looked around. There must've been at least twenty others here and more were appearing by the minute. He almost jumped out of his skin when a portal opened up right beside him and a fox wearing a full pilot uniform walked out shaking his head and muttering, "I knew I shouldn't have touched it…"_

_Lucas stood around helplessly for a bit more, not knowing what to do. Some people had tried to walk off the arena but found out that some invisible wall was keeping them in. Others were starting cautious conversations._

"_I'm Kirby."_

_Lucas looked down at the speaker in surprise. The round pink thing was staring at him expectantly. _

"_Oh, uh… I'm, uh, Lucas."_

"_Well hello, Uhlucas. What a weird name."_

"_No, no, it's just Lucas."_

"_Lucas? Hmm… still a weird name."_

_Even he was scared, Lucas decided that this Kirby wasn't a bad guy. It seemed that no one knew what was going on either, so they decided to just wait. They had just struck up a conversation about how they got here when a loud crashing noise came from their right and something went flying into the air. It crashed into a small cluster of people, and they all scattered apart. The blue bird picked himself up and let out a fierce snarl, glaring at yet another large bird like creature, his blue eyes glinting through his eyepiece._

"_You picking fight, Tubby?"_

"_That's what you get for calling me fat!"_

"_Oh no," Kirby muttered beside Lucas. "King Dedede…"_

_Before Lucas could ask who he was, the more deadly looking bird whipped out a- was that a gun? – and charged at his challenger. Lucas was certain that the penguin would end up dead in two seconds but it suddenly took out a big wooden hammer and brought it down with so much force Lucas could feel his hair being blown back from where he stood._

_Almost immediately, more chaos broke lose. A blond elf wearing a green cap was helping up his female friend who had been knocked over by their fight. He turned to the two looking furious and drew his sword despite the woman's protests. A blue haired swordsman quickly got into his way, smiling weakly, and saying, "Hey now, let's calm down…" but the blond only took it as a challenge and the other swordsman had to draw his sword in order to defend himself._

"_Prince Marth!" A panicked yell came from a man wearing a bandana. He shoved some people aside and also charged into the fight, surprising the elf with a punch. Meanwhile, the fox Lucas saw earlier was trying to pull the bird off the penguin._

"_No, don't hurt him!" the female elf waved her hand and the newcomer was blasted away by a ripple of magic. She looked just as surprised as the swordsman, Marth, did as the bandana man was hurled into the ground._

_Other fights had broken out around the arena. Lucas stared, gaping, as a monkey threw exploding peanuts at a blue blur (it was going too fast for him to get a good look) and two rather deadly kids whacked at a giant yellow and green shelled beast with hammers. Kirby stood beside him and shook his head while watching the fight. He did intervene once though. When a wolf-like figure stumbled too close for comfort, Kirby sent him flying back into the fighting mob with a lightning fast kick. Lucas decided to stick beside him like glue. _

"_Lucas, is that you?" Lucas whirled around to see a familiar boy wearing a red cap holding a baseball bat running up to him._

"_Ness?" he cried incredulously, remembering the boy from Onett Town. "What're you doing here?"_

_Ness shrugged. "Same reason as you, I suppose, though I never expected to see you here!"_

"_What… what're you doing with your baseball bat?" Lucas had met Ness a few times back in Eagleland and he knew just how much damage the black haired boy could do with his favourite weapon._

_Ness grinned. "Just in case anyone wants to pick a fight," he answered. "I've already gave a few a good whacking." He had just seen Kirby when he, and the rest of them there, were interrupted by a sudden loud booming sound. The scuffles broke apart in shock as everyone looked up to see where it was coming from. _

"_Greetings, Smashers," A voice came from the huge flat screen in the front of the stadium. A huge white hand was on the screen. "Welcome to Smash Kingdom!"_

_Kirby blinked. "Smashers?"_

"_It was I who called all of you here." _

"_Who are you?" called out a brown-haired man with feathered wings protruding from his back. He was still clutching at the collar of a rather beat up looking man wearing suspenders and a green hat._

"_You may call me Master Hand."_

"_Why have you brought us here?" A tall woman wearing a tight blue uniform stepped forward, still clutching her gun._

"_Hmm…I'll start at the beginning if all of you would settle down and listen."_

_A silence followed his proposal. Then, with some muttering of cuss words and distrusting glares, the fighters all lowered their arms and walked a safe distance away from each other._

_Master Hand sighed appreciatively. "I should've expected this to happen…" he muttered. "You're all such excitable youngsters after all."_

_He cleared his throat and began to explain. "Now I'm sure you all noticed that you've never seen each other before. That's completely normal and nothing to fret over, for you don't belong to the same world. Perhaps you did now know this but the universe is made up of different worlds. Some of you came with others from your world while others have come by themselves."_

_Lucas frowned. Different worlds… He had heard something about that from a storybook his mother used to read to him and his twin brother. Lucas had always thought it was just a story. _

"_In order to travel to different worlds, you must go through portals. All of you have just been teleported here through a portal from your own world. Do not fret," Master Hand continued when cries of shock rose from the crowd. "With the teleporters in your hands, you can return to your own worlds in the blink of an eye. I will send you back after you hear out for what reason I've brought you here."_

* * *

"PK fire!"

A small condensed burst of flames came at Lucas from the right. He quickly rolled out of the way and looked up at his attacker. Ness had leaped into the air and was coming down towards him with his baseball bat. Lucas sucked in his breath and raised his hands.

"PK freeze!" he yelled, as snowflakes appeared above him. Ness blocked the move with his bat and jumped back, ignoring the frost that was slowly spreading across his weapon. With a swipe of his hand, he erased the ice from his bat and prepared to attack again.

Lucas considered using PK fire again but thought against it. Ness was too close and could counter with his own PK fire, which could reach him. Lucas charged instead. He was fast, and caught Ness by surprised but the older boy grinned and quickly threw his bat aside and parried Lucas' punch. Ness sent a right hook but Lucas dodged and aimed a kick towards his feet. As if by some silent agreement, none of them resorted back to PSI magic and decided to end the fight with good old hand to hand combat. They grappled for a while until they both ended up exhausted, with no clear winner this time.

"Ah, ok, I think we should stop for now," Ness panted. "You've really gotten better, Lucas."

The blond boy smiled. "Really? Thanks!" He picked up Ness' bat and handed it to him.

They trained in the hills of Onett regularly since there were not a lot of disruptions there and it was a good fighting ground. After years of hard work, Ness and Lucas have managed to improve, not just their PSI powers but also their combat skills. Lucas could even beat Ness in a round sometimes, and he was terribly proud of that.

"Hmm… we should get some other kids in Eagleland to train with us," Ness said, stretching his arms.

"You could ask Paula," Lucas suggested. "I guess I'll ask Kumatora to come with me to Onett next time."

Ness pouted. "Why do you have to live so far," he sighed.

As they walked through the woods, Lucas suddenly spotted the afternoon light reflect off something to his right and pulled Ness to a stop.

"Ness, what's that?" Lucas asked gesturing to the object. The two of them approached it cautiously.

They had come across a shield lying among the bushes. It was beautifully carved with a strange design engraved on the front and studded with different coloured jewels that glimmered in the light. As he stared at its beauty in awe, Lucas felt a chill suddenly creep down his back.

Ness hesitated, then reached out and felt the smooth metal. "Maybe someone dropped it here," he said, picking it off the forest floor. He frowned. "But who would leave something like this in the middle of nowhere?"

"No… Ness," Lucas whispered, feeling excitement rise in him. "That shield doesn't look like something from our world…"

Ness' eyes slowly widened when he realized, too. He suddenly jumped and grabbed Lucas' arm. "What's that sound?"

Lucas had heard it too. A strange rustling noise, like an army trampling through the forest, was coming two or three hills away from them. The rumbling grew closer and closer until Lucas the ground began to tremble.

Lucas gave Ness one look and they both took off into the woods. It sounded as if an earthquake was moving towards them, and will be upon them in mere seconds.

A sudden load roar rippled through the air, making Lucas jump. Whatever beast made it was coming closer. Ness and Lucas ducked behind some thick bushes and peeked over to where they had just been.

Surprise does not even begin to describe how Lucas felt when he saw the hordes of robots appear from the forest, breaking down trees and bushes just by its sheer numbers.

Ness' eyes widened and he almost dropped the shield. "What? No way!"

Lucas remembered the last time he saw primids.

He had been in Smash Kingdom, a world apart from Eagleland, where he had been invited to as a Smasher. The little fiends had invaded the kingdom and began the biggest battle he's ever seen.

But that had been years ago… Seeing them again sent a chill from his neck down to his toes. Ness' face mirrored his shock and disbelief as they stumbled away as fast as they could.

Primids shouldn't exist in Eagleland. What where they doing at Onett Town?

They had red eyes like a robot's. They didn't speak and instead communicated through expressions and gestures. Even without knowing what they were saying, Lucas somehow knew that they were after the shield and hundreds of them were closing in fast.

Ness suddenly moved, shoving the shield into Lucas arms.

"Lucas, take it out of here and hide it," he ordered.

Lucas blinked. "What?" he whispered. "And leave you to handle these guys? Ness, you can't defeat hundreds of them! Don't you remember what they are-"

"Of course I do," Ness growled. I won't try to defeat them," he promised. "I'll just buy you some time to get away. We can't let them have the shield. It's somehow connected to these guys… I think it could be a clue on how to return to Smash Kingdom!"

_Return to Smash Kingdom…_ Lucas swallowed hard. "But Ness…"

"Don't talk now, go!"

Before Lucas could take a step, a sudden thundering noise came from deep within the forest. The primids stopped chattering and turned around. Another deep roar pounded through his ears and Lucas jolted in horror. That was no primid.

Ness turned to him, panic flickering in his eyes. "_Lucas, go!"_

It was too late. A monster broke into the clearing, crashing through the trees and killing several small soldiers in its wake. The robot's beady eyes glared around from under his mask and spotted them easily due to his massive height. His glare locked on the shield. It roared and his entire metallic body shook as he stood up on his hind legs. The primids all scrambled out of the way in fear of being trampled over and took cover behind him.

Lucas and Ness gaped in shock. "H-how?" Ness whispered, his arms dropping. "Why is _he_ here?"

The last time they saw Galleom had been when he had been defeated and destroyed by the Smashers in the final battle for Smash Kingdom. The robot should be dead now and yet… he stood menacingly as ever, looming over them just like he did before.

"Someone repaired him," Lucas whispered, horrified.

How was Galleom still alive? And how he and the primids come to Eagleland? Why were they were after this strange shield?

Lucas' head swam in confusion but just when his panic was about to overwhelm him, and he looked over and saw Ness. The older boy hadn't backed off an inch at the sight of Galleom and instead looked ready to take him on.

Lucas took a deep breath and pretended he didn't notice his own legs trembling.

"Ness, I'm definitely not leaving now," he said, putting down the shield and walking up beside his friend. "You can't fight Galleom alone." Ness looked like he wanted to argue but then decided against it.

"Alright then let's beat this thing," Ness growled. "We did it once before, we can do it again."

Lucas couldn't help but think that they had all of their friends with them last time. Before he could concentrate, Galleom attacked. Despite the robot being so huge, it was startling fast. It leaped towards them and rammed itself into them head on. Lucas and Ness dodged to opposite sides just in time before they were crushed. As if they rehearsed it, they both turned to face Galleom and yelled, "PK Fire!"

Galleom roared when he was hit with the burst of flames but he seemed more angry than injured. His eyes scanned from Lucas to Ness as they ran about at his feet.

"Distract it!" Ness yelled.

Lucas ran right up to Galleom and raised his hands. "PK Freeze!" The ice fully encased one of the robot's feet and started climbed up his leg. As Galleom angrily tried to break the ice, Ness propelled himself above the robot's head.

"PK Fire!" He shot a stream of fire downwards at Galleom's head and it exploded on contact, blasting it backwards. Ness followed up on his attack with a swing from his baseball bat. It collided with Galleom's nose and gave it a good sized dent. Galleom roared in fury and swung his arms around wildly, trying to catch his two quick attackers. Lucas managed to dodge but Ness, who was still in the midst of falling, was hit by one of his wild lunges.

"Ness!" Lucas yelled as he watched his friend fly into the trees behind them. Ness groaned and half tumbled, half jumped back onto the ground.

"I'm fine-_ watch out_!"

Lucas turned but not in time. Galleom's huge fist came down and grabbed him, swiping him off his feet.

At once, Lucas couldn't move. He couldn't even breathe. He was being squeezed so hard he felt that he was turning into jelly. Galleom lifted Lucas close to his face. He could feel his heat rolling off the robot and smell its smoke and grease. Lucas shrunk back in terror, refusing to meet Galleom's eyes. The robot suddenly threw his head back and let out a sound that was a mixture of a throaty roar and a shriek. Lucas realized that the monster was laughing.

Galleom let out a growl. "_YOU… YOU!"_

_W-what? _Lucas forced his eyes open and stared at the hideous robot. Was it talking?

"W-why are you here?" he choked out. "…What do you want?"

Lucas could hear Ness desperately attacking the enemy with PK fires below. Galleom let out an irritated sound and lifted his feet, trying to step on the black haired boy. Ness rolled to one side and shot a fireball at the giant foot. When a part of it fell off, Galleom growled in anger and swiped Ness up with his other hand.

"_YOU… SMASHER."_

Lucas watched Ness struggling helplessly in the giant's grip. He could feel himself growing weaker and weaker under the pressure, as he lost more of his strength.

"How did you get here?" Ness yelled at Galleom.

Galleom wheezed and grunted in amusement as he watched the two in his grasps. "_YOU… YOU COME WITH ME."_

_What?_

Before Lucas could even think what he meant by that, Galleom lumbered over to where the shield laid. The primids had already picked it up and two of them were carrying it.

"No…" Ness cried. "Don't take it!"

Galleom laughed hoarsely. "_YOU COME WITH US,"_ he yelled.

Panic jolted through Lucas' mind and his heart began hammering in his chest. _Where are we being taken?_

After Galleom saw that everything was ready, he nodded and something started to glow on his chest. Lucas suddenly noticed the little pendant with a cross attached to his metallic body.

His eyes widened. A teleporter… A glowing teleporter!

Ness cried out in surprise. He had seen it too.

"Where did you get that?" Ness yelled. Galleom merely laughed. Ness clenched his teeth together and said again in a strained voice, "Tell me. Where you got that."

Galleom threw back his head in glee and howled, "_THE MASTER! THE MASTER WILL RETURN!" _

The portal shimmered to existence before them and Lucas could do nothing but watch, partially in awe and partially in fear.

It was the portal.

It was exactly as how he remembered it, a flat glowing disk on the ground, just wide enough for a couple of people to stand on. How many years has he waited just to see it again?

The primids started disappearing into it in groups of twos and threes as Galleom stood and watched. He seemed to be taunting his two helpless opponents as they waited for their turn. As Lucas watched powerlessly, the ones carrying the shield stepped in and also vanished.

Wherever they were heading, it couldn't be good. Lucas struggled against his captor in vain, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't focus enough to activate his PSI powers. He was in so much pain he could hardly think. And he was scared.

"PK THUNDER!"

Galleom let out a cry of surprise when electricity shot through his hand and up his arm. He quickly let go of Ness who dropped lightly to the ground. His entire body was crackling with sparks of energy as the boy turned around to face his opponent. It had been a long time since Lucas saw Ness so angry. Ness glared at Galleom, his eyes full of hatred, as he calmly raised his baseball bat.

"Let Lucas go!" he yelled, charging forward.

Lucas watched the fight before him powerless to help. He cursed himself and his own weakness. Why couldn't _he_ find the strength to break free? Why was _he_ always the one that needed saving? He quickly choked back the hot tears of frustration. It was _always _like this. The times when he needed to be strong the most were when he couldn't do anything at all.

It was clear Galleom had the upper hand. Ness, exhausted from the long battle, was moving slower and for a while, all he could do was dodge Galleom's attempts to snatch him again. And he was running out of time. All Galleom had to do was step in the portal to disappear and sooner or later, he might just give up on fighting and do that. It seemed that Ness realized that too. As Lucas watched, the older boy quickly dropped his bat and rolled behind Galleom.

"PK Fire!" he cried, aiming a short distance bomb towards the robot's feet. It caught Galleom by surprise and he hopped around to rid himself of the flames.

Ness retreated to a safe distance from Galleom's wild movements and dropped to one knee. For a while, he didn't move and stood still as a rock with his eyes closed. Lucas gasped when he realized what Ness was planning and held his breath in anticipation. The move didn't always succeed, and if it failed, it would deplete its user of all his energy.

"PK…" Ness' eyes started glowing and he began rising off the ground. "…_STARSTORM!"_

At first, nothing happened. Then, a brief flash of light appeared in the sky, soon followed by numerous others. The sky lit up with flashes and they grew bigger and bigger until they smashed down towards the ground and into Galleom's surprised face. The beast roared in pain as he was continuously pounded by meteorites, and quickly dropped Lucas in order to better defend himself.

Ness, still floating in the air, flew over and caught Lucas and set him down gently. The blond boy panted and gasped for breath.

"N-Ness you did!" Lucas whispered in awe as he watched the rock shower reduce the robot to pieces. "Ness, you- Ness?"

The older boy suddenly fell over. Lucas grabbed his arm and slowly sat him up. Ness groaned and clutched his head in his arms, too weak to focus, after expending all of his energy on his greatest attack. Now that he had succeeded, it drained him of whatever little energy he had left, leaving him completely exhausted.

Galleom however, had been reduced to a mess. Half of the robot's armor had been blasted off and one of his arms was broken in two, its circuits sizzling and breaking down. The surviving primids around them were thrown into confusion, running over each other, trying to enter the portal. Lucas thought the fight was over but Galleom wasn't completely defeated yet. The large robot could still function and he now looked over to them with absolute fury behind his mask.

"_YOU!"_ he thundered, running straight for Ness and Lucas. _"YOU WILL DIE!"_

Lightning fast, he grabbed them both again and stepped onto the portal. Lucas didn't even have the time to cry out before he felt a tingling sensation through his body.

He had almost forgotten the feeling of leaving a world. It had always excited him before when he was still a Smasher but he didn't know where he was going this time. The portal was taking effect and in a few seconds, he will be teleported to who knows where.

Ness. Lucas looked over and saw that Ness was still beside him, squeezing his eyes shut and clutching to his arm like a lifeline. Lucas had to save him at least.

Eagleland was becoming distorted and everything was growing dark. He had to hurry… He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"PK Thunder!" A strong shock of electricity made Ness jump and Lucas whispered an apology. The attack forced Galleom's grip on them to loosen for a second and that was all Lucas needed to pull Ness free. With a small push, Lucas moved Ness away, and he floated out of his reach in the portal.

Lucas thought he heard Ness yell something but he couldn't quite make it out. His voice sounded very far away. Feeling was already seeping away from his body and a second later, Lucas couldn't even see anymore. The only sensation he could feel was that he was falling. Falling. Further and further into a black, empty, oblivious void.


	4. Chapter 3

_Thank you everyone for the reviews!_

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_When Link returned home, he lay on his bed and stared at the teleporter. It shimmered in different colours as he turned it in his hand. This was crazy._

_That Master Hand had just proposed the craziest thing._

_He said that he was making something called a Smash Tournament, in which fighters from different worlds gathered at Smash Kingdom to fight and compete for glory and riches. It was supposedly nothing more than a friendly contest._

_The tournament starts in a month," Master Hand had said. "I will give you three days to think my offer over. If you have any questions, feel free to come back here and talk to me by using your teleporters. You are my Smashers, my chosen ones. I beg you, consider my offer and in three days or less tell me your decision."_

_Some of the others had still looked confused. Some seemed weary. Others looked interested. Link himself still wasn't sure what to think. Zelda had been brought there with him and Link was surprised to see Ganondorf there as well, standing on the other side of the stadium. No one made their decision on the first day and Master Hand had teleported them back home. _

_Link sat up abruptly and held the pendant at arm's length. "Take me back to Smash Kingdom," he said._

_To his surprise, the pendant began glowing and Link felt himself starting to disappear. When he opened his eyes again, he was back on the huge stadium, alone this time. He looked up to the big screen. Master Hand was there._

"_Link," Master Hand greeted him._

_Link hesitated. "Um, hey," he said, unsure of what to do. He did have a few questions but was now having second thoughts now that he was here._

"_You've come back quickly," Master Hand mused. "What is it that I can do for you?"_

"_This isn't all there is to it, right?" Link startled himself with his bluntness. "I mean, why would you use so much effort on gathering together individuals from different worlds just to hold a tournament?"_

_Master Hand chuckled. "You're not the first to be having doubts about this," he said. "Your friend Zelda and a few others had arrived before you and asked me the same thing. Very well, Link. I will tell you my true intentions. I wish to create a team of elites called the Smashers who would join together and fight against enemies that would threaten the universe if any would appear."_

"_E-evils that could threaten the universe?" _

"_For the most time, you can come and go in Smash Kingdom as you please. I pray with all my heart that no such evil will rise but I'm afraid I have been having an uneasy feeling that it will not be the case. Link, you are known as a hero in your own world. I know you do not have it in your heart to refuse help to others. Help protect this kingdom and you will be known as a hero here and in other worlds as well. Come. Become a Smasher."_

* * *

Princess Zelda had a weird dream. That was all she told Link after abruptly waking him up before running off by herself towards the Lost Woods in the dead of night.

"There's someone there," Zelda insisted, when Link tried to stop her. Link knew that Zelda could see the future but sometimes, she couldn't make clear predictions. Nonetheless, it had been a long time since he saw her this agitated.

"Wait, so who did you see?" Link asked as they traveled on horseback across Hyrule field. Instead of trying to stop the princess, Link decided to accompany her.

Zelda frowned. "I don't know," she admitted. "It was a person. And he was asleep on the ground. Just outside of what looked like the Lost Forest. The vision came very suddenly. It… it's important, Link. I can feel it…"

Link nodded. "Of course, Princess," he said. "We'll go check it out."

Zelda gave him a grateful look and they hurried on.

They reached the forest quickly. Being so close to the Lost Forest, especially at night, made Link wary. It wasn't exactly a happy place. He had almost gotten lost in there before and he's heard terrible stories of what would happen if you did. Link and Zelda stopped and got off their horses and tied them to a tree.

"Should we split up to look for anyone here?" Zelda suggested.

"I think we should stick together, Princess," Link said. He didn't want to lose sight of Zelda in the dark.

Zelda saw him worrying and gave him a small smile. "Link, if it's me you're worried about, don't. Really, I'll be fine. You think I can't protect myself?"

"No, it's not that," Link answered hastily.

"Then I'll meet you back here in a while," Zelda said gently but firmly. "I'll look over on this side."

She summoned an orb of light with her hand and rushed off quickly and Link hesitated, wondering if he should head after her. He finally thought against it and took off the other way, making sure he stayed in earshot of her. Zelda seemed to really want to find whoever this was. The sooner they looked around, the better.

Link held his torch above his head and scanned the bushes and trees. He had no idea what this person would look like or why he would sleep right outside of the Lost Forest alone.

"Hello?" Link whispered uncertainly. "Anyone here?"

He hadn't gone far when he heard Zelda calling his name.

"Link! Link!" Her voice sounded strangled. Link's heart leaped and he sprinted in her direction.

"Zelda?" he yelled, whipping out his bow. "Where are you?"

"Link, I'm here!"

He eventually found her by a tall gnarled tree, kneeling by a small figure. She looked up when she spotted him coming and Link saw the shock in her eyes.

"Link," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. "I… I… oh, Link…"

"What happened?" Link asked, approaching her. He tried to calm her down by placing a hand on her arm. "Zelda, are you alright?"

Zelda tried to say something but then merely nodded. Link looked over to the figure sleeping on the ground. It was too dark for him to make out the face but he felt a strange feeling creeping up his spine. Link's heart thudded as he crept closer. That person didn't look familiar. Those shoes… those clothes… they weren't from Hyrule, that's for sure.

That red baseball cap…

Link backed up in disbelief as flashes of memories pulsed through his mind.

The old kingdom, the tournaments, the laughter, the destruction… Link remembered it all with vivid detail. The final battle… and then the aftermath of it, in which he thought he would never see _them_ again. He remembered watching as the world he loved got destroyed. He remembered watching them disappear too, before his very eyes, after calling and reaching out to them in vain. He remembered holding Zelda as she cried for days after they had returned and how even Ganondorf seemed to share their pain. He remembered giving up all hope… until now.

As Link and Zelda watched on in a daze, there lay Ness, asleep on the ground as if he had been waiting for them.

* * *

When Ness woke, he felt as if he's strained every muscle in his body. He groaned and tried to sit up but couldn't find the strength to. Ness instead looked around. He was on a comfortable bed in a large room that had a really tall window on one side. There was a carpet on the stone floor and a fireplace in the wall opposite to the window.

…Where the heck was he? Was there an ancient-looking castle like this in Eagleland? Not one that he could remember.

Someone had bandaged up his wounds for him. Ness sat up gingerly and rubbed his temple as he tried to remember what happened. He straightened up immediately when he did.

Lucas! Where was he? Did they both end being teleported to wherever Galleom had planned to take them?

Ness scanned the room again trying to think of which world he could possibly be in. It didn't exactly look like Smash Kingdom. Yes, Master Hand used to reside in a castle but the design was more modern than this. His castle control room had technology and machinery that was even better than Eagleland's. Ness looked out the window for sky arenas, the places where tournaments used to be held. There was nothing except wisps of clouds in the sky. He could see a large beautiful meadow in the distance and a busy village right below the castle. So if this wasn't Smash Kingdom, where was he?

Ness stepped out of the bed and walked around. He didn't seem to have broken any bones during his fight. That was good. He grabbed his cap which was beside his pillow and walked towards the door, determined to find Lucas. Just as he reached it, the doorknob turned and someone walked in.

At first, Ness thought it would be Lucas, but his jaws dropped when he got a better look. The other person also seemed surprised when he saw Ness at the door. They stared at each other as Ness took in the man's blond hair, blue eyes, and green cap.

No way…

Despite his grim situation, Ness felt his face slowly breaking into a huge grin.

"Link!" he exclaimed. "Wh-what? How?"

"Hey, Ness!" Link cried, laughing. He opened his arms as Ness rammed into him with a fierce hug. Link patted his head and laughed softly when he heard him crying.

Ness heard some footsteps coming from down the hall. As he looked up, he felt someone's hand on his shoulder and heard a female voice. "My, my, who do we have here?"

Ness froze and looked up at the familiar voice in shock. "Zelda?" he whispered in disbelief. "Zelda!"

The Hyrulian princess fell to her knees and eagerly pulled him into her arms. She ended up crying too.

"Oh, Ness," Zelda sobbed. "It's so good to see you."

"Me too! It's good to see you too- ow, ow, my ribs!"

"O-oh, sorry," Zelda cried.

She quickly loosened her grip him as he said he was fine. Ness went on rambling about how he had no idea what was going on and Zelda was just beginning to tell him how they found him sleeping by the Lost Forest when Link, laughing, suggested for them to sit on chairs instead of on the ground. Ness asked if Toon Link was around too but Zelda said that the young elf had gone on a quest and probably won't be back for a while. Link then brought Ness some food which he wolfed down as he told them his story. Zelda and Link listened quietly.

"Galleom appeared?" Link said, clearly in shock.

"Yeah, and he… he took Lucas. We couldn't stop him and he ended up taking Lucas." Ness looked down and Zelda gently took his hand.

"You don't know where they went," she whispered.

Ness shook his head. "I… I thought they would be here. Or actually, I'm not sure why I'm here. I don't know why Galleom would want to teleport here."

"Or maybe…" Link frowned. "You ended up here but the others didn't. You said Lucas pushed you away in the portal? You must've fallen through a certain space and ended up traveling to Hyrule instead."

Zelda's eyes widened. "That could be possible," she said. "Master Hand always told us to not move while in the portal. And in my dream, Ness, I didn't foresee Lucas or Galleom. I only saw you."

Ness listened silently. "So we were separated after all…"

Link took a breath and gently looked the younger boy in the eye. "If I had to guess, Lucas was taken back to Smash Kingdom. After all, that's where Galleom lives. It's the world he came from."

Ness nodded. "That's true. Except… I don't know why he wanted me and Lucas… and why did he chose to attack now? And how did he get the ability to use the teleporter? There's so much I don't understand…"

Zelda was at a loss too. The princess didn't speak for a while and stared hard at the table.

"Wait," Zelda said suddenly. "Do you think this is all to revive Tabuu?"

Just saying the name was enough to send a chill down Ness' spine. Link's face paled drastically. Tabuu was the strongest foe they had ever encountered and he always been Master Hand's greatest enemy.

And it was all because of him that Smash Kingdom was destroyed. Five years ago, when the Smashers learned of his existence, he had already built up an army and it was too late to stop him.

"Ness, you said Galleom had a teleporter with him right? Perhaps somehow, his followers have learned Master Hand's secret on how to use the portals and are now using it to their advantage. They could now threaten not just Smash Kingdom but other worlds too. Maybe they're trying to find a way to bring Tabuu back now that they have access to otherworldly powers."

"No way…" Link whispered slowly. "But… there's no way Master Hand's strongest spell can be broken… Tabuu should be sealed behind that door in subspace forever."

"…You're… probably right," Zelda said, nodding slowly.

Ness was frowning. "No… now that you mention it, I remember Galleom saying something like how 'the master will return' during our fight. They might not succeed in freeing Tabuu but they're trying."

Link and Zelda exchanged a look.

"…Link, I think we should tell Ganondorf about this."

The elf blinked in surprised. Ness cocked his head. It was true that Ganondorf was a Smasher like them, but…

"I don't think he'd help, Princess," Link admitted.

"Ganondorf?" Ness said. He's always had mixed feelings about that man. Ganondorf did help fight the Smasher's common enemy but he was hard to get along with and never seemed to care for the others. He's also heard stories of the times Link and Zelda had to defend Hyrule from him. "He's your enemy, right?"

"Yes," Zelda answered. "But I think he has a right to know about what's happening…"

"But we're not even sure ourselves yet."

"We're not really on bad terms with him right now," Zelda said slowly. "And I think if he listened to Ness' story, he could help…" When the other two didn't immediately object, Zelda continued. "Besides, we're just telling him our theory. It's not like he can do much knowing this. He can't travel worlds any more than we can."

"Well… I suppose there is no harm," Link said slowly.

"Then let us meet up with him tomorrow," Zelda said. "I'll message him telepathically."

* * *

After asking Ganondorf to come to the outskirts of town to meet them and he agreed, Zelda, Link and Ness hurried across the market and waited by the river. Ness stared at everything with interest, even the trees and the plains. He told the other two about his world that had buildings made of wood and painted with paint. The houses had electricity which provided the heat and they had computers and television. Half of it, Link didn't quite understand.

"What kind of a shop is that?" Ness asked, pointing into the distance.

"It's the blacksmith's shop."

"So he makes the weapons?" Ness gaped as he watched the man pound at a sword with iron.

Zelda chuckled. "Yes, swords, among other metallic objects." She suddenly blinked and looked around the meadow. "Ganondorf just messaged me. He should be here."

"I am here."

Link whirled to his right and saw the huge man in armor that appeared out of nowhere. Even though Ganondorf was not posed to attack, Link had to resist the urge to draw his sword out. They hadn't fought in a long time but thief still and always will make Link uneasy. Ganondorf walked up to them and lifted one eyebrow in surprise when he saw Ness.

"So you were right, Zelda," he said. "A Smasher came." He nodded at Ness who hastily bowed back in surprise.

"Yes," Zelda said. "Link and I found Ness yesterday night in the woods. He got teleported to Hyrule by accident when he and Lucas were attacked by Galleom."

"Galleom?" Ganondorf narrowed his eyes. "How did Galleom manage to find them?"

"He had a teleporter that worked with him. It took him out of Smash Kingdom and to Eagleland. Ganondorf, I will go straight to the point. We think that Tabuu might be rising again. We need your help."

"Tabuu? He's rising again?" Ganondorf sounded genuinely shocked. He didn't blink once as he listened to what Ness had to say. After Ness finished, they all stood in silence waiting for his response.

The tall sorcerer suddenly scoffed. "And how may I offer my help?" he asked. "I am as helpless as all of you since we can't even get to where Tabuu is."

"But Ganondorf, there is no denying your power," Zelda tried. "If something does happen, the three pieces of the Triforce needs to act in unison in order to defeat Tabuu."

"Whoa, you said you're not sure if he'll even be freed."

"There is always the chance," Zelda warned. "And please, if you end up finding some information, share it with us. If Galleom does come here, we could use your help in defeating him and taking the teleporter from him. With it, we might be able to return to Smash Kingdom."

"And then what?" Ganondorf looked the trio over with cold eyes. "Return to Smash Kingdom where nothing's left?"

"…Ganondorf…"

"There's nothing else we can do. Even if all you said is true, how can we find the other Smashers? And even if we manage to find the others, how can we take Tabuu down?"

Ness stepped forward. "We came to warn you," he said. "Tabuu's most likely still sealed away. It's Galleom we have to worry about, because he's the one trying to bring Tabuu back. Please, at least help us find Galleom and take him down."

Ganondorf hesitated and then looked away. "This is no longer my problem," he said finally. "You do what you want."

Link, who had been standing by the whole time, felt fury slowly boil up inside his stomach as the conversation went on. Everyone was trying so hard to fight against a growing threat and Ganondorf was willing to just ignore it.

"Ganondorf, stop hiding," Link said softly as he stepped forward. "I never took you as someone who would just give up like this. After all this time, we might finally get the chance to find out what happened to Smash Kingdom and you're not even going to _try? _What, don't tell you're scared."

Zelda and Ness was staring at him incredulously. When Ganondorf's eyes flashed dangerously and his hand brushed against his sword, Zelda stepped in between them and gave Link a warning look.

"Scared, boy?" Ganondorf rasped. "I'm not the one that's scared. You should be. You think you're going to be the little hero again, running off to save the day, huh? Just like that time?" Zelda had to hold Link back from charging the bandit as he continued. "You're reopening doors that should be best left closed, all of you. But if you're not going to listen, then just make sure you don't end up freeing Tabuu instead of ending him."

After saying that, Ganondorf turned around briskly and walked away, leaving the trio staring after his back.

They began their walk back dejectedly, with Ganondorf's warning still echoing in their minds. Zelda kept apologizing for trying to recruit him but nobody blamed her. Ness told her they didn't need him anyways and Link kept quiet, thinking over what he had said.

_He's mistaken,_ Link thought firmly. _He's just scared. Why expect any more from someone like him?_

The outskirts of the town had just come into view when Link felt Zelda touch his arm. "Don't let what he said get to you," she murmured softly. "No matter what he says, Ganon was also upset about what happened back then."

Link nodded, not wanting to disagree with her. He was about to continue walking when a rustling noise came from behind them. It got louder in the matter of seconds.

Something was approaching.

Link turned around only in time to see a huge form looming over them before he realized that his body was thrown into the air.


	5. Chapter 4

_Thank you everyone for the support so far!_

**Chapter four**

"_And here is your room, ma'am."_

_Zelda nodded at the woman who led her to the door. "Thank you."_

"_I hope you enjoy your stay here!"_

_The Hyrulian princess had certainly been in for a surprise when her ride arrived at the mansion. It was enormous, just as big as the palace back at home or perhaps even bigger. A path led from the gate through an impressive front lawn to the main entrance. On the top floor, there were a row of windows and Zelda assumed that was where the dorms were._

_Link and Toon Link had come with her and they too gazed in wonder at the magnificent building. A lady was waiting for them at the door._

"_Welcome to Smash Mansion," she greeted them._

"_It's great to be here," Zelda said._

_As their guide showed them the way to the living room, she almost collided with two kids as they ran out of the door, laughing and waving hammers around._

_Link stared at their backs incredulously. "Are those little kids participating in the tournaments too?" he asked, ignoring the indignant "little kids?" from Toon Link._

_The guide nodded. "The Ice Climbers are perfectly capable of holding their own ground. Please Mister Link, if you could allow me to give you a piece of advice, it's to remember to not underestimate younger ones in a fight."_

_Toon Link beamed and shot his older brother a smug look. Zelda smiled as Link pulled the shorter elf's hat over his eyes. It needn't be said that she, too, will try her hardest in a fight, even if it meant going against her friends._

_After Zelda got to her room, she unpacked her things and immediately headed out to the training grounds. There were already a couple of others there. Some were sparring. Others were training by themselves, practicing their moves on dummies._

_Link and Toon weren't here. Zelda sighed. They were probably raiding the kitchen or something. But it was fine. She could train solo._

_Zelda found a spot a fair length away from the others and began practicing her magic. She had much to improve on, for she didn't want to have to rely on her light arrows in the tournaments. Of course, she could always use Sheik but that was a last measure for it uses a lot of her strength._

"_Wow you can do magic?"_

_Zelda whirled around at the feminine voice. A pretty girl with big blue eyes was staring back at her holding a turnip. She smiled and extended her hand._

"_I'm Peach," she said cheerfully. "From Mushroom Kingdom."_

* * *

Zelda gaped as Link was hurled into the air away from them. She tried to run to him as he fell back onto the ground but the attacker quickly moved between them, cutting her off. As Link tried to get back up, Zelda had no choice but to focus on the enemy.

…Where did that _thing_ come from?

Zelda didn't hear it coming up to them at all. It was really as if it had appeared out of thin air. She did, however, recognize who it was. The colourful beast had a large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth and was more than twenty feet tall. It carried a cage in one both of its hands. It had been five years since Zelda last saw it and despite the attacks it was receiving from her and Ness, Petey the Piranha turned to Link who was still on the ground.

"Link!" Zelda cried. With a wave of her hand, she disappeared and reappeared in front of him, cutting him off from the monster. Link tried to yell at her to move away but it came out as a whisper. He desperately tried to stand.

"PK Fire!" Something exploded against Piranha's back and he roared in pain. Ness took this chance to jump onto its head and started hitting him with his baseball bat.

Thanks to the distraction, Link had the time to stand up. Zelda didn't need to feel his arm to know that it was broken. It was obvious, from the way he positioned it.

"Link?" she said uncertainly.

"I'm fine Princess," he told her. "Now's not the time to worry." As if to prove his point, Ness was flung off the enemy. Zelda had forgotten that Ness was already injured from his previous incident with Galleom. Even though it was three on one, thanks to Petey's surprise attack, they didn't seem to have the advantage.

Zelda suddenly remembered what Ness said about working teleporters. Sure enough, she could see the shiny metal attached on Piranha's chest. She only needed to give Link a look for him to understand. They need the teleporter.

Link and Zelda got ready to attack again, encircling Petey slowly. Before they could do anything, however, Zelda suddenly saw something approaching from the hills behind their opponent and felt her heart quicken in shock.

An army of primids flooded in like a swarm of insects. Before she could even blink, the little robots quickly had them surrounded and closed in from them on all sides.

"H-how can this…" Zelda couldn't finish her sentence. How could they possibly do anything against such overwhelming odds?

Link growled.

"Princess Zelda!" he yelled, motioning with his hands to distract Petey. Zelda had fought with Link too many times before to not move instinctively. She blasted the mutant plantlike creature back with her magic as Link drew his sword with his good arm and charged towards it. Link rolled under one of the swinging cages to stab his Master Sword into its leg. Piranha shrieked in indignation and tried to swat him away but Link rolled again to his left and dodged. He suddenly stopped, however, and clutched his arm in pain.

The enemy didn't give him time to recover. Link was grabbed and shoved roughly into one of the cages the monster was holding. He cried out when he landed on his bad arm.

"Link!" Zelda cried. The primids were swarming around her and Ness, not giving them a chance to regroup. There was no end to them. No matter how much Zelda took down, more took their place.

Zelda suddenly heard Link yell her name. She turned around just in time to see Petey picking her up and roughly throwing her into the other cage. She remembered what Ness told them about Lucas and her heart leapt at her throat.

Zelda immediately tried to teleport herself out but found out she couldn't. It wasn't just some metal cage; it was preventing her from using magic. Link meanwhile hacked at his cage but it wouldn't budge either. The cage must've contained a magic barrier for even the Master Sword couldn't break the lock. They made eye contact, both of them desperate and disbelieving. For the first time in a long time, Zelda felt helpless.

Ness yelled and charged at Piranha but was intercepted by a dozen primids. The boy fought them off the best he could but Zelda watched desperately as her friend was overwhelmed in the end.

Piranha picked her up and lumbered over towards Link. The cage swayed to and fro, knocking her around despite her feeble attempts to grab the bars. Just as Piranha picked up Link's cage, the elf thrust his sword lightning fast towards the monster's head. They were out of luck though, as it only nicked Piranha in the face. The monster roared and shook Link's cage hard, forcing him to the ground.

"Link! Are you alright?" Zelda barely finished speaking before Piranha began swinging both of the cages around, tormenting its prisoners. The Hyrulian felt sick. The world spun around in circles and it was all she could do to hold on to the cage and not throw up. She could hear Link yelling her name.

When Zelda was finally given a break, she gasped for breath. "Link…" she whispered.

Link didn't look any better than she felt. He was lying on the cage floor and his face was a sick shade of white. His head was bleeding at the temple. Zelda felt something run down her face and realized her head was bleeding too.

Piranha suddenly grunted and all the primids turned to look at him. Even the ones around Ness stopped fighting and looked over. They walked over to Piranha leaving Ness lying still on the ground.

The teleporter on Piranha's chest was glowing and as Zelda watched, a portal materialized in front of them. Zelda let out a small, surprised gasp.

"No!" Link yelled in horror. He struggled with the cage yet again, pounding at it with all his might. Zelda felt herself growing dizzy from the blood loss as she watched the scene before her and was afraid she might pass out any second.

It wasn't working. Nothing was working. Zelda began to despair, realizing that they was out of options. "Ness!" she cried, turning to their last hope. "Ness, _please._" Piranha was already on the portal. They would disappear in a few seconds.

As if by a miracle, Ness got up, trembling. The boy took one look and realized what was happening. He charged blindly towards them, past the surprised the primids, and knocked into Piranha just before they disappeared. Piranha grunted in surprise and stumbled as they all vanished at the same time.

Zelda closed her eyes, trying to calm her headache. She weakly opened them again when they materialized, expecting to see Smash Kingdom.

Just before she blacked out, she caught Bowser staring back in surprise and realized they weren't in Smash Kingdom at all.


	6. Chapter 5

_Hey guys. Sorry this chapter's taken so long! I had to send my laptop away to get it fixed because it stopped working. I'm back now though and hopefully will keep posting chapters quickly. Here's chapter five. Enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter Five**

_Ness looked up when he heard the laughter from down the hallway. Peach and Zelda walked into the dining room, chatting and smiling. They seemed to be having a great time. He sighed and went back to picking at his food._

_He's been at Smash Kingdom for two weeks now and he could see the friendships starting to form. It wasn't just Peach and Zelda who grew very close. Samus, a bounty hunter from space trained frequently with a pokemon trainer called Red and the trainerless pokemon Pikachu. __After Marth convinced Ike to drop the formalities, he became close to the mercenary, and the two found other swordsmen to talk to, namely a curious figure called Meta Knight and an elf named Link. Lucas who came with Ness made a friend too- Kirby. Even the cold and distant Ganondorf found someone to converse with- two Smashers from Mushroom Kingdom Bowser and Wario._

_So why couldn't he seem to make friends? He couldn't answer the question. Ness had hoped that sooner or later, he would just somehow meet up with someone, maybe over dinner or during training but that didn't happen to be the case. He wasn't sure what this competition would be like and thought he didn't need to get acquainted with any others but after a while, he realized how much he was missing out on. And by that time, groups of friends had already formed with him not being a part of any._

_He didn't even realize Lucas was watching him until the younger boy spoke. "Ness, you've been frowning at your food for quite a while now," he said quietly. "Are you ok?"_

_Ness shrugged. "Meh. It's nothing."_

"_You should talk to some of the others." Lucas' suggestion was so abrupt Ness almost choked on his spaghetti._

"_I… I have," he said quickly._

"_Not really," Lucas replied. "I always see you either train with me or on your own."_

"_It's just… I never really got the chance to get to know anyone yet." What was Ness supposed to say? He wasn't sure himself. Maybe it was because of how being in Smash Kingdom overwhelmed him at first or that he was intimidated by some of the others or that he was simply afraid no one wanted to be his friend._

_Lucas looked around. His eyes settled on a figure sitting in the corner. "What about… Lucario?"_

"_What? That guy?" Ness heard about pokemon already and knew who Lucario was but… "He doesn't talk much, does he?" Ness said anxiously. "And he seems kinda… hard to get along with?"_

_Lucas smiled. "Lots of people seem like that at first but I think everyone here are actually really nice if you'd just get to know them. Master Hand called all of us specifically for a reason."_

"_How can you say that?" Ness muttered, thinking about the Smashers who seemed outwardly hostile like Ganondorf or Wario._

_The blond boy laughed meekly. "Call it a hunch."_

_Still, Ness decided to take his friend's words to heart. During training the next day, he spotted Lucario practicing some slow, almost dance-like moves by himself and took a deep breath and walked up to him._

"_Hey…" Ness cleared his throat._

_Lucario turned towards him and stopped practicing, his calm blue eyes taking him in._

"_Ah…" Ness scratched his head. "My name's Ness. I was wondering if you'd like to practice together sometimes?"_

_Lucario blinked and swished his tail. Ness swallowed. Maybe the pokemon couldn't talk! He's seen some of Red's pokemon. They only seemed able to repeat their names._

"_Um, I was just wondering," Ness continued shrugging. "But it's ok if you don't want to. Kay, bye now!"_

_And just like that, Ness quickly exited the room._

_Outside in the hallway, he repeatedly banged his head against the wall, only stopping when a couple of passing nurses gave him weird looks. Ness then headed dejectedly back to his room._

"_It didn't work," he told Lucas the next day at breakfast._

"_What, really?" the blond regarded him worriedly. "What happened?"_

"_I don't know," Ness groaned. "Urg, I was too nervous, I guess. Ah, whatever. It's not like I needed another friend anyways." He had just turned away when he spotted someone walking up to them. It was Lucario._

"_You dropped this yesterday."_

_Ness blinked and looked around when he heard the deep voice. Lucas beside him was in the middle of greeting the pokemon. He didn't hear it. Ness nudged him. "Did you hear that?"_

"_Hear what?" Lucas asked._

"_It was me," Lucario said as Lucas squeaked in surprise. "I communicate through telepathy. The little voice in your heads is just me speaking."_

"_That's… that's cool," Ness managed. He just realized that Lucario was still holding out his baseball bat and quickly took it. "Oh, thanks! I didn't know I forgot it."_

"_No worries. You seemed to be in a great hurry to go somewhere."_

"_Oh, uh… haha. Yeah, I was."_

_Lucario swished his tail and cocked his head slightly. "Well, Ness… since you asked, I guess I could spar with you sometimes," he said. "I've seen you train. You are quite skillful and your moves are very interesting to observe. Of course, if you want to join in, Lucas, feel free to. Well…I'll be taking my leave now."_

_As Lucario walked off Ness stared after him with his jaws slightly dropped. He felt Lucas nudge his elbow. The blond was smiling._

"_See Ness? That wasn't too hard right?"_

* * *

Ness was surprised. Oh, that was an understatement. First Hyrule and now, Mushroom Kingdom. It seemed that he was traveling to a lot of places lately.

They were in the middle of a flat piece of land that felt warm to the touch. The air around them was humid and in the distance, Ness spotted several volcanos, some with lava trickling down the sides.

And Bowser! Bowser was standing right in front of them as if he'd just seen someone return from the dead. Which was pretty close to what they were.

Petey the Piranha spotted Bowser too, and immediately realized that he was in the wrong place. Before Ness could even stand up, he summoned up the portal again and stepped on it with Zelda and Link.

"No!" Ness couldn't reach them this time for a couple of primids who also ended up in Mushroom world quickly stepped between them. Without a second thought, Ness summoned up his lightning, his most versatile attack, and aimed.

Deep in his mind, Ness knew he only had one choice. Hitting Piranha straight on wouldn't do any good. PK thunder was too weak to blow him away. Both Zelda and Link would disappear if his grip remained on their cages and Ness highly doubted the beast would let them go unless his attack struck it square on the arm.

He had only one attack. And two friends to save. Ness didn't dare give himself time to think for that would only waste time and he would've lost them both.

The PK Thunder flew right over the primids' head, straight towards Piranha's left arm, twisting and traveling down to the cage. Piranha let out a cry of pain as the cage slipped through his hands. He disappeared a brief second later, as Ness stared at Link, longing with guilt and despair. The elf had caught on to what happened, and instead of looking betrayed, he gave Ness a smile of gratitude… and vanished.

The primids ran to the portal and a few managed to jump in before it closed. The ones that didn't make it in time chattered around in confusion and turned back to Ness. Their puzzlement turned to anger and they ran at him. Ness, disheartened and exhausted, didn't bother to raise his arms in defense. It would be better for them to beat him into blissful oblivion.

A sudden gust of fire caught the robots by surprise and roasted them to a crisp before they had time to dodge. Bowser lumbered up, growling and glanced around. Ness was still standing, staring into nothing. A cage with an unconscious Zelda lay on the floor. Pieces of the primids was scattered on the ground with smoke rising out of them. There was no trace of Piranha or Link.

"Hey," Bowser called to Ness. The boy turned and looked at him.

"Bowser," he said the fog lifting a little from his eyes. "It's… good to see you again. Thanks for helping me."

Bowser got straight to the point. "What's going on? Did you just appear on a portal? What the hell just happened?"

Knowing it would be a long story, Ness asked if they could move Zelda to a safer place. The King of the Koopas grudgingly agreed.

As Bowser and Ness carried her cage into his castle, Ness began to speak. He told Bowser everything, starting from when he and Lucas found the shield back in the hills of Onett.

"You're telling me Galleom kidnapped Lucas, and then Piranha there took Link?" Boswer said as they climbed up the stairs.

"Yes. I don't know why they're targeting the Smashers… and Ganondorf refused to help us."

The King Koopa smirked. "That sounds like Ganon. Well, it's because of Tabuu, right?" he answered to Ness' previous statement. "We got in his way last time and stopped him and now, he wants to get rid of us. Sorry to tell you this, kid, but Lucas and Link are probably aren't doing so great right now."

Ness' body tensed up. "I know," he whispered. "I will rescue them though. Those guys will be coming back. They'll take me straight to them."

"Brave words," Bowser growled. "But they're just words if you can't do anything."

Ness felt his anger heat up, unintentionally letting sparks fly from his fingers.

"If you remember, there are other Smashers in this world," Bowser continued on. "It's probably better if they knew about this too. I can get to them in less than a day from here."

Ness blinked. "Oh yeah! Mario, Luigi, and Peach!"

"And Yoshi and Wario. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong live quite far from here on DK Island, but we'll get the news to them too."

"You… you're helping me?" Ness must've sounded too surprised for Bowser growled in irritation.

"Aren't I right now?" he asked, carrying the cage to the top of the stairs. "And besides, I don't want this mess to stay in Mushroom Kingdom. My castle getting messed up is the last thing I need. Alright, so you said that Galleom attacked you less than three days ago?"

Ness nodded. "And Zelda and Link didn't know Piranha was going to appear in Hyrule either."

"They're making their move fast," Bowser muttered. He opened the door to a vacant room and set the cage onto the ground. "Zelda can stay here for now," he said.

"Wait… can't we at least get her out of this cage?"

"If her own magic couldn't break it, what can we do?"

"I… I don't know…"

Bowser sighed, exasperated. He looked at the cage door. It really just seemed like normal metal. He gripped the bars tightly and tried to break it off its hinges. To him and Ness' surprise, the door came off with a loud snap. Bowser glanced over at Ness, raising an eyebrow.

"How…?" Ness exclaimed. "Link had tried to break free but it door wouldn't budge!"

"It was made specifically to hold them?" Bowser muttered.

"W-what?"

"Think about it, Piranha appeared in Hyrule right behind you three with two cages. He didn't expect for you to be there but I bet he was after Zelda and Link since the beginning. Tabuu's on to capturing all of us and he's gotta make sure he won't fail."

* * *

When Zelda woke, Ness told her everything. However, no matter how much he emphasized the fact that it was his fault that Link was gone, Zelda blamed herself. Ness couldn't bear the look of her pain but also couldn't find any way to comfort her other than repeatedly apologizing. Zelda shook her head.

"How could you say that, Ness," she murmured. "You did everything you could."

Ness blinked hard, looking down. "First Lucas… and now Link… I'm sorry."

Zelda reached out and wrapped him in her arms. Ness could tell the princess was crying and he bit his lips, refusing for his own tears to fall. Their grieving was short however, for sudden noises erupted outside the door, the sound of loud footsteps of someone running down the hall.

"Bowser?" Ness mouthed. Zelda shook her head. The footsteps were much too quick to be the Koopa King.

"Peach, slow down!"

"You hurry, Mario! And Bowser, did you say they were in here?"

"Second door to the left…"

The door suddenly flew open and a blond girl in a pink dress bursted in. Her eyes landed on the two who stood up to meet her and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Zelda…" Peach whispered, trembling.

Zelda, too, broke down when she saw her old friend. Peach ran forward and practically threw herself at the elf, sobbing into her shoulder. Mario and Luigi came in right behind her. They walked past the princesses quietly, not disturbing their tearful reunion and greeted Ness.

"Hey there, Ness!" Mario said, smiling. "It's been so long!"

"It really has," Ness agreed, feeling his spirit lift somewhat.

Luigi shook his hand. "Man, what a way to meet up," he said. "I had always thought we'd all return to Smash Kingdom one day and have a huge happy party but it seems things have taken a turn for the worse, huh?"

Ness nodded. "Guess the party'll have to wait."

They started catching up on the five long years as the girls finally settled down. Ness suddenly spotted Bowser watching them from the door but before he could call him in, the Koopa turned and left. Ness hesitated and then quickly helped Zelda fill in Mario, Luigi, and Peach on all that had happened.

"We'll save them," Peach declared when they finished. "We'll definitely save them!"

Zelda could only nod. The group moved to a table and sat down and she quickly continued. "We have some things sorted out. Or at least…" she looked over at Ness. "We think this is what Tabuu and his minions are up to."

"They're taking Smashers on purpose," Ness said. "When Piranha went to Hyrule, he had it all planned out. He knew where Link, Zelda, and I were and ambushed us."

"What about Lucas?" Luigi asked. "Did they have that all planned out too?"

Ness hesitated. "I… I don't think that was the case with Lucas and I. Galleom was after a shield. We found a shield in the hills beside our town. Definitely not from our world. I don't know how it got there though. It looked really old fashioned, like something a knight would wear into battle."

"Can you describe the shield?" came a gruff voice.

Ness turned and saw Bowser walking up to them. He took a seat next to Luigi and said, "I've just sent messengers to Wario, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong."

"Thank you, Bowser," said Zelda.

Bowser grunted and gestured for Ness to continue.

"Well… the shield had five jewels, all different colours. And its design… here, do you have any paper?" Ness gave a quick sketch of what he remembered and showed it to the other Smashers.

"It seems very important," murmured Peach. "What could it be doing in a forest?"

"Maybe someone dropped it," Ness said. He was really at a loss too.

"Maybe… maybe Galleom dropped it." Heads turned to Luigi and he quickly continued. "Maybe Galleom stole it from another world, and then dropped it while he was in the portal and it fell into Eagleland. He went to retrieve it and then accidently ran into you, Ness, and Lucas."

"…Yes," Zelda whispered. "That would make sense!"

Luigi shrugged modestly. "Although, the reason why Galleom wanted that shield, I have no idea."

"This shield sounds very valuable," Zelda said slowly. "Just think of what special powers it could possess. To have it in the hands of Tabuu's followers… I shudder to think of what they might try."

"And at the same time, they're kidnapping Smashers who are a threat to their goal," Mario muttered. "This is bad."

Zelda's eyes suddenly widened. "Ganondorf!" she cried. "I have to tell Ganondorf they're after him too! Oh, how could I not have seen this in time?"

"Zelda, it's alright." Peach placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's not your fault. Besides, didn't you try talking to him?"

Bowser grunted. "I'm sure Ganon can take care of himself. Meanwhile, now that we know what they're after, they'll come for us for sure and we need to prepare this time for it to happen. Peach, you better make sure your castle is secure too. They might try to steal something."

Peach nodded. "Of course. We'll be completely ready this time for anything."

* * *

The next few days were a blur to Peach. Zelda and Ness had agreed to move over to her castle in Toad Town because it was near the centre of where all the Mushroom Kingdom Smashers lived. If any trouble arose, Bowser, Wario, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong would try to get there as fast as they could.

Even though Peach was overjoyed to see her old friends, she was worried sick for them. Zelda had woken up numerous times at night calling for Link, and Ness, the poor kid, kept thinking Lucas was around every corner. They were both weakened from all they went through but were too anxious to settle down and rest.

The princess hurried down the corridor to the meeting place Luigi asked her to come to. She spotted him and waved.

"Hello, Princess!" Luigi greeted. "Mario will be here shortly. We just finished patrolling around the kingdom but we didn't find anything weird. No primids or anything. And we haven't heard anything from Bowser and the others."

"Thanks, Luigi," Peach said graciously. They had been taking turns patrolling Mushroom Kingdom just in case one of Tabuu's minions returned but the week passed with no disturbances. Peach didn't know what they might go after in Mushroom Kingdom either. There were some magical mushrooms and other such things but Peach had already warned the civilians to report anything if something mysteriously disappears. So far, there had been nothing.

"Princess." Peach realized she had been zoning out and quickly turned to Luigi. The man looked troubled. "Princess, do you know how the portals work?"

Peach nodded slowly. "Master Hand controlled them somehow. He could summon us when he wanted to and send us away just as easily, as long as we're touching the teleporter."

"What if someone else can activate it? The teleporter? It doesn't just have to be Master Hand."

Peach frowned. "Well…unless they figure out how Master Hand used it… Luigi, are you thinking that one of Tabuu's minions or someone else from Smash Kingdom can summon us back there?"

Luigi nodded. "I… I've never told anyone but Mario this but in Master Hand's operating room, the place where he could control and carry out tournaments, he activates teleporters there too."

"What?"

"I accidently stumbled into his room once. Long story. Mario thought it'd be funny to trap me into an air vent and I ended up having to crawl around in that thing all over the mansion until I accidently fell into that room."

Peach nodded. "Go on."

"Anyways, he has this amazing supercomputer in there. It does a lot of things, like operate damage control in our tournaments, which is why it is impossible to die when we're having a fight, even if we use our ultimate smash. It also monitors activity all over the Mansion and the tournaments. And there's something else. On Master Hand's computer, there's a section labeled 'portal access'."

Luigi shook his head rapidly. "I couldn't open the file, it was Master Hand's! I…I lost my nerve and got out of there as fast as I could."

Peach nodded. She might've done some more snooping around but she knew instinctively that Master Hand's room should be out of boundaries.

"But… even if it was possible to find the computer," Peach continued. "It's most likely by one of Tabuu's minions. Why would they ever want to activate it and bring us back? We're their enemy."

"They won't," Luigi agreed. "But they've already found the place and changed the settings around to use the portals to their advantage. That's how they managed to gain the ability to travel worlds. If… if even one of the us can steal a currently working teleporter and go back to Smash Kingdom and find Master Hand's room, we can revive all the other Smashers' teleporters too!"

"You're… you're right!" Peach said incredulously. How could she not have thought of it? "We can be reunited this way!"

Luigi turned a deep shade of red and laughed embarrassed. "It's only a possibility, Princess. Still, Mario and I were thinking of alerting the rest of the others."

"Of course!" There was a chance their teleporters could be reactivated. This was the best lead they had so far. "We'll tell the others right away."


	7. Chapter 6

_Hi guys I'm back! As always, thank you for the reviews and support!_

* * *

**Chapter Six**

"_Master Hand? What have you called us together for?" Mario asked when the whole group had taken a seat._

_Master Hand was standing at the head of the table. He had called them together very suddenly so Mario assumed he had some important news._

_Master Hand cleared his throat. "Alright first of all," he said. "Congratulations to the great success of the tournament so far! I know we're only two days into the first round but I've had plenty of townsmen come up to me and tell me how exciting it was to watch. Everyone here loves it and I have you all to thank."_

_A few smashers shrugged modestly while others broke into smiles._

"_No problem, Master Hand," Toon Link said. The young Hyrulian warrior was already out of the tournament after he was defeated by Fox on the first day but he didn't seem too upset about it. Unlike some others._

_Captain Falcon gave a salute. "Can't wait for my turn, Captain!" He grinned at Red._

"_The pleasure is ours," Snake replied, giving Lucario, whom he defeated yesterday, a stare._

_The pokemon caught Snake's eyes and glared back, his body suddenly enveloping in a mysterious purple aura. Ness, who was sitting beside him, slowly scooted away as the angry pokemon began floating slightly off his chair. Snake and Lucario seemed to be exchanging some intense staring battle when Peach intervened._

"_Oh, cool off you two," she said, waving her hands. "This is just the first tournament. So what if you lost? There's plenty more to come." Others who had been defeated already smiled and nodded, looking a lot happier. "That being said," Peach continued, looking over to Ness, her eyes suddenly darkening. "I'll crush my opponent next time."_

_Ness swallowed and shrank back in his seat. "I regret my win," he muttered._

_Slowly, the Smashers forgot about the meeting as talk about the tournament continued._

_The Ice Climbers, Nana and Popo looked on the verge of tears. "I can't believe we lost so soon," Nana murmured to her brother._

"_I know right," Popo said wiping his eyes. "I wanted to win."_

_Ike, a mercenary swordsman, who sat a few down from the twins, heard them and sighed. He put his head onto the table._

"_The guilt is killing me," he whispered to Marth beside him._

_Marth gave his shoulder a small pat. "It's not your fault."_

"_I'm a terrible person," Ike said as he secretly watched the Ice Climbers sniffle._

"_Hey, it's all for the sake of advancing to round two! I mean, sure you brutally beat up a couple of kids but at least you won." Marth smiled cheerfully._

_Ike groaned._

"_WHAT WAS THAT?" Further down the table, Wolf suddenly stood up and was pointed his blaster at Falco's head._

_Falco didn't look the least bit fazed and instead smirked. "I said, you only think this whole thing is boring 'cause you lost in, like, two seconds fla-"_

_It was a good thing Falco had his reflector at the ready because Wolf began rapid firing. The lasers bounced away from Falco but they hit everything else. Windows shattered and walls were punctured as all the Smashers hit the floor._

"_You're only cocky 'cause you haven't fought yet," Wolf snarled. He suddenly turned to Mario. "Hey, Mario, you better kick this guy's ass real good or I'll kill you. I mean it."_

_Mario scratched his head and laughed weakly as he watched Fox pull Falco down before the bird could take out his own blaster. Meanwhile, Pit fired an arrow at Wolf. Wolf back flipped away as it shot past and made a hole through wall._

"_What do you think you're doing?" Pit yelled._

"_Where the hell were you aiming?" Wolf growled back._

"_Are we fighting?" Toon Link asked excitedly, drawing his sword. The Ice Climbers seemed to agree with this and quickly pulled out their hammers._

_Mario's jaws dropped as he watched things quickly escalate. A minute before, they were having a meeting like civilized people. Now, a brawl had been started in the middle of the meeting room, and half the room was already destroyed._

"_Everyone, stop," Mr. Game and Watch cried frantically, ringing his bell. Yoshi responded by accidently kicking a Yoshi egg into his face. Some of the Smashers eagerly jumped into the fray while others fought solely for self defense or ducked out of the way._

_Mario glanced around for Peach and saw her standing safely out of the way with Zelda. He also spotted Jigglypuff jumping on Luigi's face and was about to run over to help him when a ray of laser suddenly flew over his head, coming so close to him he could feel its heat._

_The flash of red beam also surprised everyone else and the fighting temporarily stopped. The Smashers glanced over at the sizzling wall where a perfectly round hole was carved. Smoke was slowly floating out of it. It had also shot through Marth's cape and Kirby's hammer. Kirby blew the smoke out of his weapon, brought it to his eyes, and stared through it like a peephole._

_R.O.B. couldn't show emotions but from the way his eyes flashed red, Mario and the others could tell that he was not in a good mood._

"_Can we please all return to our seats?" the robot asked softly. "I am sure Master Hand has not finished with whatever it is that he needed to tell us and it would be terribly rude for us to interrupt him any further."_

_They all quietly agreed and quickly returned to their seats. One of the table's legs had broken off but King Dedede used his hammer to support it and the meeting continued._

_Master Hand slowly cleared his throat. "Alright," he said. "Thank you, everyone, for, uh, calming down. I suppose I've also learned a lesson today. To never again mention the tournament when all of you are together for the sake of the mansion. But anyways, moving on! I wanted to tell all of you about a magic spell I was working on. I have been working on it for the past few years and yesterday, I've finally managed to perfect it."_

_This caught the interest of all the Smashers._

"_A spell?" Meta Knight asked. "A spell used for…?"_

"_For sealing," Master Hand responded._

_Nana raised her hand. "I don't understand. Sealing? Are we sealing something away?"_

_Master Hand chuckled. "Oh, no, Nana," he replied. "Hopefully, we never need to. However, you should know, this sealing spell can be used to seal away a large amount of power. If, for whatever reason, I have to use it, it is best to tell all of you beforehand how the spell works so you will know what to do if that time ever comes."_

_Everyone seemed to have forgotten about their fight by then. No one joked around even once as they continued to listen._

"_Now, be sure to note that this spell does not take lives. It does not kill the enemy, but instead renders them unable to move. As long as the spell is in effect, the target will not be able to wake up."_

_Popo raised his hand this time. "Can it be broken? This spell?"_

_Master Hand nodded slowly. "Yes, it can, but it is extremely difficult to do so. When I activate it, the target is thrown into a space behind a door and the door is shut forever."_

_Master Hand suddenly conjured up a misty image above the table. It took the shape of a large glowing door, closed and bolted shut. Three silver spherical objects were embedded at its centre._

_Zelda frowned. "What are those glowing orbs?"_

"_I call them charms. They keep a magic protective barrier around the door."_

_Master Hand waved a finger and an image appeared above the table. It showed a close up of the three glowing round orbs. They looked a bit similar to teleporters except a bit bigger and were silver in colour._

"_They are the main protection of the gate," he continued. "If, by the use of some powerful magic, the charms are forcefully removed and taken away from the gate, the spell will be greatly weakened and there's a chance it could be broken."_

"_So in a sense, the gate is responsible for sealing something in, and the charms are responsible for protecting it from attacks from outside," Fox summarized._

_Master Hand nodded and his voice turned solemn. "It's the ultimate sealing spell I have come up with. I hope to never have to resort to it though. If I do, it most likely means that we are up against an enemy we cannot defeat. If we ever encounter anyone like that, all of you must, at all costs, make sure the spell is never broken."_

_A heavy silence filled the room._

"_Are there any questions?" No one had a question._

"_Now remember, I am only taking precautions. There's a very likely chance that you will never see this spell so there's no need to worry yet. If there are no questions, then the meeting is over." Master Hand dismissed them with a wave._

_As the Smashers were walking out the door, Mario picked up his pace to catch up with Sonic. The hedgehog was frowning._

"_Sonic? What's wrong?" Mario asked._

"_I don't think Master Hand should worry," Sonic replied._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_This… this whole spell he thought up of, I mean, it sounds very helpful, but when are we ever going to encounter a foe that all of us can't defeat together?"_

_Mario hesitated. "It sounds more like a last resort," he said._

"_Yeah, one we don't need," Sonic scoffed. "I know most of these guys here are idiots but they can all hold their own in a fight. There's no way someone out there can take down all of us."_

* * *

Two weeks after the arrival of Ness and Princess Zelda, Mushroom Kingdom was finally targeted.

Based on what he's heard, Mario knew to expect lots and lots of primids lead by one of Tabuu's closer followers like Galleom or Petey Piranha so he thought he was ready to take them on. He just forgot one thing: how fast the attack came.

Even with all the extra precautions Princess Peach came up with, Duon still came down on them by surprise. Mario had been taking a morning patrol outside Toad Town when the centre of town suddenly exploded, sending citizens and debris flying into the air. Immediately, Mario knew it was Duon, the two sided robot capable of mass destruction. There was no mistaking the missiles it was shooting.

Mario ran towards the commotion. He could already see some primids starting to run amuck in the town, attacking innocents.

"Mario!" Luigi was suddenly at his side.

"We've got to stop the primids and evacuate the villagers," Mario yelled. Another explosion went off in the direction they were headed.

"Shouldn't we attack the leader?" Luigi asked, staring at the chaos at town centre.

"I know," Mario said. He picked up his pace. "We also have to call Bowser, Yoshi, and the others for help!" Everything happened so quickly Mario wasn't sure what to do first.

"They're too far away," Luigi cried. "I think Yoshi's nearby but Bowser's back at his castle… and DK Island is a day's trip from here!"

Mario cursed silently. There was no way to get to the other Smashers at the moment. He thought about Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, and Ness back at the castle. No doubt they also heard the explosions and will soon come. Until then…

"Let's buy some time," Mario said. With only the two of them at the moment, there was no way they could take down a whole army.

As they kept running towards the middle of town, Mario and Luigi took out as many primids as they possibly could. Primids weren't very strong, but their sheer numbers could tire out a fighter if they let it drag on.

Mario suddenly spotted a primid about to fire at innocent Toads and felt a burst of hot anger shoot up his body as he destroyed it with a fireball. The villagers had nothing to do with this and yet so many have died already. The primids spared no one; just like back at the battle of Smash Kingdom, they killed everyone and destroyed everything in their wake.

"There's Duon!" Luigi yelled, punching primids out of their way.

Sure enough, the giant robot-or _robots_\- appeared before them, both sides turning and focusing their attention on their two newly arrived challengers.

"Mario and Luigi from Mushroom Kingdom," the blue side noted.

"Destroy them," the pink side said.

The blue side didn't waste time. Its arms lashed out and swiped at Mario and Luigi. Luigi ducked and Mario jumped into the air. Mario landed next to blue Duon and immediately started dealing attacks as fast as he could. Luigi distracted the pink half by pelting it with green fire.

Duon suddenly moved. He rammed forward, his wheels crashing into and destroying a house. Mario rolled out of the way and he saw Luigi do the same. Their attacks didn't seem to have too much effect. Mario knew the robot was too huge to be taken down by two Smashers but they had to keep trying.

"Mario, he's got a teleporter with him somewhere!" Luigi yelled.

Mario blinked. That's right! If they took Duon's teleporter, it couldn't escape. It didn't take long for Mario to spot it.

"Luigi, it's on the blue robot's head!"

"How're we going to reach it?" Luigi cried as he ducked out of the way of a missile.

"Leave it to me!" Mario sidestepped as the blue Duon lunged at him again and quickly flipped onto the robot's arm. He ran straight up Duon's arm, headed for the teleporter, and almost reached it when blue Duon rammed his arm into another house.

Mario felt the impact of the wall when it contacted blue Duon's arm and felt himself fly off. He could hear Luigi yelling his name but his voice sounded distant. It felt like he was falling through the air but he wasn't sure. Everything was blurry. He couldn't get his eyes to focus or his body to move.

Before he could fall back onto the ground, Duon caught him in his fist. The blue robot motioned something to his other half and they stopped attacking Luigi. When Mario's head cleared, he realized that Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, and Ness had also shown up.

And for some reason, they were looking up at him with a horrified expression.

"Mario, no!" The last thing Mario heard was a cry from Princess Peach before everything blackened. The trip through the portal was quick and before Mario could even fully regain his senses, they had already arrived.

_Did I just get… kidnapped?_ Mario blinked, trying to get his bearings.

Duon had his fist tightly around him so he couldn't move but Mario could still see. Toad Town was gone. They were now in a meadow of some sort that stretched out quite far. Groups of primids scattered about. There were forests and mountains in the distance but that wasn't what caught Mario's eyes.

To their right was what appeared to be a huge black dome that stretched high into the sky. Mario suddenly couldn't breathe when he realized he was staring right at subspace.

He was back. Back in Smash Kingdom.

"No way…"

The more Mario stared at the landscape, the more familiar it seemed. His heart sped up. The wide plains were where the old town used to stand, before it got decimated. Even now, Mario could still see the remains of a few houses scattered around. Mario couldn't see any of the town citizens but he wasn't surprised. Who would still live in a devastated town that was half engulfed by subspace?

"Hey, where're you taking me?" Mario yelled.

The blue side replied, "Back to our headquarters."

"Headquarters?"

A group of primids had come up to Duon and were now following him straight into the black dome. Mario broke out into cold sweat as they approached it. Duon stepped in.

The inside was dark but Mario could still see, and what he saw sent chills down his spine. A vast emptiness that never seemed to end spread out before them. As Duon pressed on, the only sound came from his wheel that hummed while it rotated. As it echoed, Mario wondered just how big the subspace was. It was too dark for him to see far but it felt like they were traveling deeper into an empty void.

There were a few primids about. They turned to look at Duon as they passed by but didn't follow him. They all seemed to be heading in one direction.

As Duon took him deeper into the dark entity, Mario felt a stronger pressure weighing down on him. He knew that Tabuu was in the middle of this subspace. Even sealed away, Mario could feel the immense pressure the dangerous enemy gave off. His heart began pounding as Duon pressed on.

"Is… is that Tabuu ahead?" he asked. "He's still sealed away, isn't he?"

The pink Duon growled. "Master Tabuu may still be behind that gate but one day, we will open it. Until then, I suggest you meddlesome Smashers don't get in our way."

Mario struggled in his grip. "You'll never succeed with your plan! There's nothing stronger in Smash Kingdom than Master Hand's magic."

"That may be…" Duon said. "But Smash Kingdom isn't the only world out there, now is it? There's plenty of powerful magic to be found in other places."

They only briefly passed by the gate but Mario had time to see enough to fill him with dread. The magnificent barrier that Master Hand had summoned up was still standing majestically but it wasn't being left alone.

Hordes of primids were pounding away at the metal with hammers and swords. They looked like ants swarming around next to the giant gate. Even though the gate was magical and repelled the physical weapons, the primids were relentless, taking turns to attack it without stopping. Ripples were sent out from where the door was struck.

Mario squinted to get a better look at the gate and felt his heart plummet painfully. His worst fear came true.

The charms- the three pendants that had once protected the gates were gone.

"What… what have you done with the charms?" Mario cried.

Duon only laughed.

He kept going, past the gate and deeper into the darkness. When they suddenly approached a large trapdoor, Mario realized that this 'headquarters' Duon was talking about was underground. Duon effortlessly opened the gate and went in. They dropped down into a tunnel made out of white metal and continued on down. Primids patrolled the hallways everywhere.

"You guys build this?" Mario said disbelievingly.

Duon smirked. "Our headquarters is about the size of the town. It's taken a long time to build but with the technology of Smash Kingdom, it was easy. And it is well concealed."

Duon entered a door. Behind it, Mario spotted a row of jail cells. Roughly and without warning, Duon opened one cell and threw Mario in. The robot then quickly locked the doors and left.

Mario winced as he tried to sit up. His head was ringing but not just from his painful trip. How was he going to tell the others everything he just learned?

"Wait, a minute, come back!" Mario yelled angrily. "Answer me, what did you do with the charms?"

Mario walked over to the bars and tried to break them but his efforts were to no avail. They were made of some sort of special material that was stronger than metal. He growled in frustration. The primids that were patrolling the jail cells area kicked at him whenever he tried to punch the bars and Mario was just about to shoot fire at them when he heard a voice.

"Mario, is that you?"

Mario whirled around at the voice. From the shadows of the cell, a figure stirred and Mario caught himself staring into a pair of green eyes. He gaped.

"…Fox?"

The Cornerian pilot stood up slowly. After he got over his initial shock, he smiled. "How you doing?" he asked, glancing over Mario's battered body. "Not very well at the moment, I assume?"

Mario laughed weakly still trying to believe he was talking to his old friend. "What're you doing here?" he said. From what he could see, Fox hadn't changed much. He was still dressed in the same outfit he always wore and hadn't lost his quippy tone of voice.

"Same reason as you I guess," Fox replied. "I was brought here by Porky Minch. Remember the guy? He attacked me back in Corneria while I was sleeping. Seriously. He was after me and Falco but Falco managed to get away unharmed along with the other Star Fox members."

Mario remembered Porky Minch. He was one of Tabuu's most powerful allies. Ness and Lucas had told everyone that Porky came from their world but chose to live in Smash Kingdom and follow Tabuu. Out of all of Tabuu's minions, Porky disturbed Mario the most. He was a crazy boy that trapped himself in an indestructible container connected to a deadly crab-like machine. Not exactly someone Mario would want to run into.

"So how'd you end up here?" Fox asked.

"Duon," Mario replied. He told Fox about Ness and Princess Zelda and what they figured out about the teleporters.

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That's impressive. Oh, wait, you said Zelda's alright?"

Mario nodded. "Yes, she's recovered."

Fox walked over to the left side of the cell and knocked on the wall. "You hear that, Link? Hello? Link?"

An irritated voice answered them. "What do you want, Fox? I was sleeping."

"Link!" Mario smacked himself on the head for not remembering that Link and Lucas was also here. "Link, it's me, Mario!"

"Wha- Mario?" Link sounded a lot more awake. "Mario, when did you get here?"

"Just now, actually. Duon attacked us at Mushroom Kingdom."

"Wait, isn't that- is Princess Zelda alright? And Ness and the others?" Link cried, panicking.

"Everyone should be fine," Mario replied. "Duon didn't stay too long in our world. I think when he saw that there were many Smashers, he took no chances and left. He only managed to get me."

"I… I see. That's good. I mean, it's not good that you got caught but at least the others are safe."

Mario looked down grimly. "I hope he doesn't go back too soon though," he murmured.

Mario suddenly heard a kid's voice. "Link, who're you talking to? That doesn't sound like Fox."

"Oh, you're awake, Lucas. Mario's here! I guess I shouldn't sound too excited since it's not good news that he got captured, but Mario's here!"

"Mario? Really?"

Mario smiled. Even though Lucas sounded more grown up now, he could still hear the child he knew in his voice.

"Yes," Mario said. "It's me, Lucas."

"Mario!"

"I've met up with Ness. Don't worry, he's safe in Mushroom Kingdom for the time being. He's really worried about you though."

"Ness is alright? Thank… thank goodness. Thank you."

Fox leaned against the wall. "Well, now that we're happily reunited, why don't we try to bust out of here?"

"We can't, Fox," came Link's tired voice. "We tried. They took away all our weapons. Lucas' psychic powers don't work against these bars. There's nothing we can do."

Fox sighed. "I can't take it, being cooped up like this," he muttered, his ears twitching.

"It's okay Fox," Lucas said. "I've been here for three weeks now. You kind of get used to it after a while."

Fox's tail twitched. Mario couldn't help but groan inwardly too.

"Just what are they planning to do to us," he muttered.

"I think they're just trying to keep us from meddling with their plans," Link muttered. "I mean, they're not killing us straight off the bat which makes me suspicious but I really can't complain."

"They have something in store for us," Fox stated. "Otherwise, we'd be dead by now."

Lucas gulped loudly. "Not sure what's gonna be worse…"

A silence filled with dread passed through the jail cells. That was when Mario suddenly remembered.

"You guys, the charms! I passed by Tabuu's gate and saw that the charms were gone!" he cried.

"Yah, they were removed," Lucas said. "When they brought me here, I saw Galleom removing them."

"What? How?"

"Do all of you guys know about the shield he stole?"

"Yes," said Mario.

"Yeah, you guys told me about it," said Fox.

"Galloem took the jewels off the shield and fused it with a cannon-like weapon and directed it at the gate. It took two days, I heard the cannon repeated going off, but eventually, the charms broke off. That shield really has some legendary power..."

"No…" Mario whispered. "How could Master Hand's greatest spell…"

"Remember, the spell isn't broken yet," Fox said. "It's only been weakened now that the charms are gone."

"What did they do with them?" Mario asked.

"They scattered them," Link replied. "I overheard Galleom and Meta Ridley planning it out when I was brought here. The charms can't be destroyed or taken out of this world so they scattered them somewhere far apart from each other."

"When we get out of here, we've got to find them," Fox said. "The only problem is, we don't know where they are."


	8. Chapter 7

_Yayay we're onto chapter seven! Enjoy you guys!_

_Warning: this chapter contains one swear word. There will probably be more swearing in the future haha.._

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

"_Ivysaur, return!" Red reached out to catch his pokeball and pocketed it gently. He took a deep breath and looked around._

_Tomorrow was the day. It was finally his turn. Red was nervous. Even though he's trained for months, he couldn't keep calm. He was brimming with anticipation and tension and his pokemon were too._

_As he headed out of the forest and back to the mansion, he spotted a man flying through the trees above him. Yes, flying. When Red first met Pit, the wings had surprised him but he was quite used to it now. Being able to fly so high was a great asset in battle. If Red had to go against Pit, he could only rely on Charizard to reach him._

_Pit also spotted him and flew down effortlessly. _

"_Hey, Red!" he chirped. "Out training?"_

_Red nodded and they headed back together. "Yeah. Are you excited for your turn tomorrow?"_

_Pit nodded and twirled his twin blades. "It'll be fun," he said. "It's just the first round. I'm going against Donkey Kong. What about you?"_

"_Captain Falcon."_

_Pit let out a whistle. "He acts like a goof but he's good," he warned._

"_Yeah, well…" Red tossed a pokeball into the air and caught it. "I'm not losing the first round. How confident are you feeling? Donkey Kong's no pushover either."_

_Pit laughed. "Please, it'll be over in a blink."_

_It sure was._

* * *

"Venusaur, return!" Red watched as his plant pokemon was absorbed into its pokeball.

The nineteen year old pokemon trainer was training in the woods of his hometown, Pallet Town. As the sun began to set, he started to head back home.

"Hey, Green, I'm leaving," Red called out.

The bushes rustled next to him and a spikey haired teen walked out, pokeball in hand. "Heading back so soon?" he asked.

Red ignored the cheek in his voice and adjusted his hat. "What do you have there?" he asked, gesturing the containers Green was holding.

"Samples of vegetation for Grandpa. He wanted to check the pollution levels," Green answered. Recently, he had been doing more research on pokemon just like Professor Oak. It had felt somewhat weird to Red when his rival didn't go on training trips anymore and instead sat in a lab all day. Sure, Green still did train, but Red remembered when he used to _seriously_ train.

"Well, you better start heading back," Red muttered turning away. "Don't want your Grandpa to get worried now, do we?"

"What's up with you?" Judging from his voice, Red could imagine Green's frown on his head. He opened his mouth to answer but found he couldn't.

What _was_ wrong with him?

As he walked home, Red tried to shrug off his irritation. He was restless these days. Nothing happened at all. No legendaries went on rampages, no emergency calls came from other regions. Heck, even Team Rocket seemed to have quieted down.

Red was so distracted by his thoughts he didn't notice the pokemon standing outside of his house until he was right next to it. It stared at him calmly, its red eyes gleaming in the evening light.

A lucario? Red frowned at the pokemon. He wondered if it accidently got lost from its trainer. They weren't native to Pallet Town.

"Have you forgotten your friends already, Red?"

Red took a step back as he recognized the pokemon. It wasn't just any lucario. It was Lucario, one of the selected pokemon that had participated in the Super Smash Tournament years ago! Along with Red and a few others inhabitants in his world, Lucario was a Smasher that had helped defend the universe under the orders of Master Hand.

"Lucario," Red said, still surprised. He hadn't seen him in almost a year now. "It's been so long." Red could feel the annoyed aura emitting from the pokemon for being forgotten and quickly added, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

Lucario's tail swished a few times and he said, "You look well, Red. I'm glad to see that. I should've dropped by more often."

"Oh… same! Last time I saw you, it was back in Sinnoh. How're things going there? No trouble I hope?"

"Sinnoh's doing fine," Lucario answered. "Regigigas went on a rampage last week but the gym leaders managed to subdue-"

"Oh for goodness sake, can you just tell the man what you came here to tell him?" Red whirled to his right just in time to see a jigglypuff emerge from behind a tree. She puffed her cheeks up in impatience and jumped up and down.

Red understood that Lucario was communicating with him through telepathy but it was quite weird to see a normal pokemon talking. He only understood Jigglypuff because she possessed a teleporter. The pendant did more than just bring its holder across worlds. It translated languages too, which enabled the Smashers to talk to each other. Even though it couldn't teleport him anymore, the teleporter could still enable him to talk to his fellow pokemon Smashers.

"Hey, Jigglypuff," Red said. He saw her around more frequently than Lucario since her home was in Kanto and she often visited him for fighting practice and free food.

"Red, Samus is here."

A short silenced passed. "…Huh?" Red blinked. "What did you-"

"I said Samus, Red. Clean out your ears! Don't you remember her?" Jigglypuff waved her arms around, trying to get the message across. "Now, hurry! She has to talk to us."

Lucario stepped forth before Jigglypuff could drag Red off and calmly said, "Jigglypuff, slow down. You've confused and shocked him."

"Wha- no, I… I'm fine. It's just… wait, what?" Red stopped stuttering and stared at the two. "What did you just say?"

"Do you still remember Samus Aran, a woman whom you met at Smash Kingdom about five years ago?" Lucario asked.

"Of course I know who she is," Red cried. "But why is she here? How… how did she get here? Why are you two acting like this is normal?"

"We were surprised at first too," Lucario assured him. "But don't worry, she really is here. We will bring you to her for she has something to say to all of us. Could you come with us to Sinnoh right now?"

* * *

"Thanks, Charizard." Red returned his pokemon to his pokeball and tucked it safely away before turning to the others. Lucario and Jigglypuff had ridden on Charizard to Sinnoh with him. Red knew the two didn't like going into pokeballs (or more like adamantly refused) so he offered them a ride.

Hardly a second after Charizard disappeared, Jigglypuff grabbed Red and pulled him towards the woods. She ignored his complaints so Red grudgingly allowed himself to be dragged along. Lucario followed behind them, looking rather amused.

"She's waiting in the woods with Pikachu," Jigglypuff said. "Hurry, hurry!"

"How did she get here?" Red murmured.

"Well, what do you think? With a teleporter, of course."

They found Samus sitting under a tree without her power suit. She was conversing with Pikachu, both of them looking very relaxed and cheerful, when she spotted them coming up.

"You're back," she said, standing up to meet them. Pikachu head-butted Red in greeting before turning to the others. Samus looked up at Red and smiled at his disbelieving face. "Hello, Red. Long time no see."

Samus hadn't changed much. Her long blond hair, like always, was tied into a ponytail and she was still wearing her same old blue zero suit. Her gaze was heavier though, more weighed down, from whatever pains or sorrows she had to go through that Red didn't know about.

He found his voice. "Samus. You're… you're really here."

The tall woman smiled. "By accident really," she admitted. She gestured for him to sit down and Red did so, after taking out Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard to listen to her tale. His pokemon all dropped their jaws when they saw the bounty hunter before approaching her cautiously. When they recognized that it was her, they began running around excitedly.

Samus' eyes widened. "Are these your pokemon? They've grown so much!"

Red nodded. "Yeah, Squirtle and Ivysaur evolved into their final forms just like Charizard."

After the pokemons calmed down, Samus began talking. "I've told Pikachu, Lucario, and Jigglypuff my story already." Jigglypuff nodded in agreement and jumped onto her lap the moment she sat down. Pikachu looked irritated at this and proceeded to head-butt her off so he could take her place.

"I was fighting Ridley one day," Samus said. "You know Ridley, the flying reptilian creature that was convinced by Tabuu to live in Smash Kingdom and follow him."

Red nodded, remembering the fearsome predator and Tabuu himself. "Yeah. Just like Master Hand, Tabuu also gathered followers from different worlds," he said. "Some went with him willingly while others he forced, like Raquaza, the legendary flying pokemon he brainwashed from here."

"Yes," Samus said. "Even before I knew of Smash Kingdom, Ridley and I were mortal enemies, constantly engaged in combat. Then, just the other day, I ran into him again." Samus leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the two bickering pokemon on her lap. Pikachu and Jigglypuff settled down though they still glared at each other every few seconds.

"What happened?" Red asked.

"I managed to defeat him," Samus replied. "Then, as he was flying off, he dropped something." She fished a small object out of her pocket and showed it to Red. It was a teleporter.

"…_What?" _Red slowly took it from her and looked the pendant over. It was identical to the one he and the others had. "Ridley had this?"

Samus nodded gravely, taking it back. "And it works. It took me here."

"Red."

Red turned to Jigglypuff who for once, was looking rather serious.

"Samus is going to head back to Smash Kingdom with that teleporter and she's asking us if we want to go with her. She hid her suit nearby because it attracted the attention of the locals but we're gonna go get it and leave. Like, right now."

Red didn't even notice that his mouth was hanging open until he spoke. "Right… right now?"

"Are you prepared Red?" Samus asked. "Or should we give you some time to get ready?"

"Oh, no," Red quickly answered. He was breaking into sweat because he couldn't control his excitement. "I already have Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, and some other pokemon with me. Can you just give me a moment to send a quick message to my family?"

"Of course," Samus replied standing up. "Then I'll go retrieve my suit and-"

"Ow! Hey! Let go!"

Red and the others whirled around at the sudden voice. Samus immediately took out her blaster and Red's pokemon drew close to him.

"Wait, wait," Red called out. Now that the sun was almost completely down, he had a hard seeing but the voice sounded familiar.

Lucario suddenly appeared out of the bushes. He was dragging someone with him. A certain spikey haired someone.

"Green!" Red exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Followed you," Green muttered, clearly irritated. He shook Lucario off roughly. "I saw you going off with these pokemon and wondered where you were headed so late. Who… who is this?" He caught sight of Samus who was still pointing her blaster at him and quickly reached for his pokeball.

"Green stop," Red said quickly, stepping in between them. "And Samus, it's okay. He's my friend. I just didn't know that he followed me here."

Lucario swished his tail. "He's not dangerous," he said. "I sensed his aura and decided to pull him over in case he ran off. It's best if no humans from this world knew of Samus."

Samus slowly nodded and lowered her gun. Red saw Green slowly relax too.

"Are you Red's friend?" Green asked. "From… what was that place called?"

"Yes, I am Samus Aran. I met Red back in Smash Kingdom."

"What are you doing here? Do you need Red for something? He told me that the teleporters no longer worked anymore."

"I came here by accident while trying to control this teleporter," Samus replied, fishing it back out of her pocket. "However, I now need Red's help. And the pokemon's. Could I speak to them in private?"

Green frowned and looked away. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Red grabbed his arm and dragged him out of earshot from the others.

"Green, this has nothing to do with you," Red whispered angrily. "Go back to Pallet Town. It's the dead of night right now!"

Green glared at him. "What?" he whispered back. "And leave you here by yourself?"

"I'm not by myself. Samus' a friend. And you know the pokemon won't hurt me either."

"She's going to take you back there, isn't she?"

"She might," he answered. "…Yeah, she probably will."

"Don't go with her," Green said right away.

Red turned away, took off his cap, and ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "Green, for the last time, this has nothing to do with you. Something's happening back there. Something… something _bad_. I told you about Tabuu before. Remember him?"

Green nodded slowly and Red continued. "His followers suddenly gain control of Master Hand's space teleporters after all this time. Who knows what's going to happen? Fuck, something might be happening in Smash Kingdom, or some other world, _right now_, and you're telling me to stay here, stay in the dark, after that's all I've been doing for five years?" He turned back to his friend and saw Green staring silently back at him.

Green shook his head slowly. "Don't go back."

"I _have_ to go back."

"Will you listen to me for once, Red? Don't do it!" Slowly, the other trainer's voice started to rise.

"Every time," Green spat, glaring at him. "Every time, when you go there, I always wonder when you'll return. Sometimes, you wouldn't for weeks. _Months._ I start to wonder if you'll _ever_ return. You always went so eagerly, and this Smash Kingdom was all you'd ever talk about. We didn't go on trips anymore, or had anymore battles, 'cause you were never here."

Red could do nothing but stare as Green began pacing back and forth, his fists clenched at his sides. His anger and irritation was now replaced by surprise. Green continued. "And that time. That last time when you came back." His voice broke and he looked away. "You were a mess… You couldn't move for months! I thought you were gonna _die_. What… just what happened to make you like that?"

Red couldn't answer.

"Don't go back there, Red," Green repeated. "I just… I just have a bad feeling about this. Please. You might not come back this time. Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

For as long as Red knew his rival, he never saw Green as angry and upset as he was now. Green was the opposite of him. He thought before acting. He covered Red's back when Red's recklessness gets the better of him. He kept his cool when no one else could. No amount of pressure or strain could get to him. No, nothing at all.

The silence that followed was suffocating but for some reason, Red didn't want to break it. He finally cleared his throat softly, trying to find his voice again.

"Green… I have to go back."

The other boy closed his eyes. He slowly shook his head, clearly not having given up yet so Red continued quickly. "You're right. It is dangerous. But hey." He smiled weakly. "We're pokemon trainers. Danger's never far away, huh? I know how to handle danger."

"Red."

I'm sorry, Green. I really am. I never knew I worried you so much." Red's eyes trailed down. All this time, how could he not have seen how much others were affected by his decisions? "You don't have to worry this time," Red continued quietly. "I won't be gone for long."

"You can't promise that," Green said through gritted teeth.

"I promise you I will," Red said. "Hey, I've returned every other time, right?"

"But-"

"I'm going back, Green. I have to. I'm sorry."

Red couldn't read his friend's expression. The brown haired teen looked on the verge of either dropping the subject or punching him in the face, Red wasn't sure which. Green's hand drifting towards the pokeballs at his waist and Red suddenly realized his rival he was going to try to stop him by force but in the end, his hand dropped instead.

Green took a deep breath. "You're such a fool, Red…"

Red exhaled silently in relief.

"I'll come back as fast as I can," he assured his friend. "Actually, you don't have the time to sit around and worry either. I need you to do something. You know about Rayquaza, the legendary dragon pokemon right?"

Green frowned at the sudden change of subject. "Yeah…"

"I need you to find him and make sure he doesn't go berserk or disappear for no reason. Tabuu used him before and I need to make sure he doesn't use him again. And it's probably the best if you check on the other legendaries too. Just in case."

Green looked away.

"I need you to do that, alright Green?" Something shiny caught Red's eye and he saw Samus appearing from the trees beside them. She had put on her power suit and was waiting for him with the pokemon. Red nodded at them before turning back to his friend. "I can't waste time right now, sorry. Can you tell my mom that I went on a journey to Sinnoh and won't be back for a while?"

Green didn't say anything but nodded.

"Thanks," Red said quietly as he walked to where the others were waiting.

"We'll teleport right here," Samus told Red. The small group huddled together and Samus took out the teleporter.

"I hope this works," Lucario whispered.

"Will your friend be alright, Red?" Samus asked looking over to where Green stood watching them.

"Yeah," Red answered. "He'll be fine. Let's go quickly."

"Take us to Smash Kingdom," Samus whispered. The pendant began glowing and a portal appeared beneath their feet, basking them in blue light. Jigglypuff and Pikachu gave small gasps. Red turned and saw that Green hadn't left.

"Take care, Green," he said.

"A pokemon battle."

"What?" Red frowned, confused.

"When you come back, I challenge you to a pokemon battle. We haven't had one in quite a while." Green smiled. "You better not have gotten rusty."

Red slowly felt his face break into a grin too. "Alright I accept," he replied. "Train hard or you'll lose this time."

Green looked away, the worry had returning to his eyes. "Be careful, Red… I can't watch your back when you're over there."

"Of course," Red grinned. He could feel a tingling sensation spreading from his chest to his arms and legs, making him lose feeling in his body. Soon, the forest around him became nothing but a dark blur. "When am I not?"


	9. Chapter 8

_Hey guys! I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow so I thought I should upload one more chapter before I leave. __Please enjoy chapter eight!_

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

_The crowd had cheered like mad after witnessing the first few rounds of the tournament and their cheers haven't gotten any quieter on the fourth day. Samus had to admit, each of the fighters were impressive. They had their own strengths, knew how to deal with their own weaknesses, and are slowly learning those of their opponents. She was watching the last round of the day, Olimar vs Diddy Kong, and both contestants were going against each other with all they had._

"_Go, Diddy!" A few seats down from her sat Donkey Kong. He had just won a few days ago against Pit after grabbing the angel when he flew too close and holding him in a headlock before knocking him out cold. _

"_Diddy Kong's got this," Red mused beside the giant ape. The pokemon trainer had been taken out magnificently by Captain Falcon yesterday but he seemed to have finally gotten over the shock of the defeat. He was now laughing and betting on wins with the others that had already fought._

"_Oh! Look over there!" Wario pointed at the sky and Samus let out a small gasp. Appearing out of nowhere and floating above the fighters was a smash ball, a rare item that granted the power for a Smasher to use their greatest move. Obtaining it could well mean a victory._

_Diddy Kong noticed it first. Quickly dodging Olimar's attack, he jumped into the air and managed to land a punch on the smash ball. Now, it needed two more hits to break. The crowd roared in excitement when Diddy Kong managed to land an attack a second time. Then, all of a sudden, the smash ball veered left towards where Olimar was waiting. The short captain threw a red pikmin at it and it was hit square on. _

_Diddy Kong's jaws dropped. "No way!" he cried._

_Samus blinked. She's never witnessed Olimar's strongest attack before. As she watched intently, a space ship materialized in front of him and the captain quickly climbed in with his pikmins. It blasted off into the air just as the roar of a monster echoed through the stadium. _

_The jaws of the Smashers beside her dropped open. Even Samus had to stare in shock as a wave of red round creatures with snail-like eyes invaded the stadium and began stampeding all over the place. Diddy Kong was helplessly trapped in the mob and his damage intake on the big screen drastically increased. Thankfully, the assault didn't last more than a couple of seconds and the monsters quickly disappeared off the stadium._

_Diddy Kong lay on the ground, dazed, for a few seconds before trying to stand up._

"_Diddy, watch out!" Donkey suddenly yelled, pointing to the sky. Samus looked up to see Olimar's rocket ship come crashing down from the sky. It landed at the centre of the stadium, close to Diddy Kong. Well, more like crash landed. To everyone's surprise, an explosion erupted from where the ship touched down and blew Diddy Kong away, out of the stadium. _

_Master Hand's voice appeared, booming across the arena. "And the winner is… Captain Olimar!"_

_The crowd erupted into cheers as the little captain stepped out of the spaceship with his pikmin companions and waved to the audience. Diddy Kong rematerialized back above the arena on a portal. He and Olimar shook hands and walked off the stage waving as the applause continued._

"_Olimar's pretty tough!" Red breathed._

"_So that's what his final smash is," Pit said. "This is the first time he used it. At least now we know what to expect."_

_Samus dipped her head in agreement and clapped softly as she watched the fighters exit the stage. They were indeed strong but after witnessing the battle, she learned some important information about their fighting styles._

_Samus had already won her fight against Yoshi two days ago but she knew that in order to continue winning in the tourney, she had to observe her future opponents' fighting styles as thoroughly as possible to gain the advantage. Not everyone revealed what they were capable of during training._

_Olimar's victory wrapped up the first part of the tournament. Samus couldn't wait for round two._

* * *

When Samus opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was Red standing at her right and Lucario to her left. Pikachu brushed past her leg and took a few tentative steps forward as if testing if the world they were standing in was real.

Samus saw Red's eyes widen in awe as he took in the sight around them. The pokemons were all silent too. They stared at the empty space surrounding them without a word as the wind whistled past.

They were standing back on the old sky arena, the place that had held so many memorable fights so long ago. The once beloved arena seemed to have been abandoned. For how long, Samus wasn't sure. She looked up to the large screen that Master Hand had appeared on when he first spoke to them. The glass was cracked and the screen was pitch black. Debris and cobwebs littered the floor. The place that once held so many festivities now felt eerie and hollow.

Jigglypuff finally spoke. "We're… back?" Her voice sounded tiny, breaking the silence of the huge arena. She turned around to meet their eyes. "We're actually back in Smash Kingdom…"

Red, who had taken his pokemon out for them to take a look around, gave her a small pat on the head. "Yes, we're back," he said. His voice was firm with certainty but his eyes were grim.

"Samus," Pikachu said, his ears flicking in confusion. "What do we do now?"

Samus hesitated, looking around. She could see the town, or what was left of it, in the distance. A huge portion of it was enveloped in dark material. Subspace. The evil entity Tabuu had tried to use to swallow up the world.

Pikachu also noticed it. "The subspace is still there," Pikachu said. "From the looks of it, Tabuu is still sealed in it by Master Hand."

Samus nodded. "We need to get to the castle. Find someone, anyone, and find out what happened ever since we left."

The others nodded in agreement and headed for the exit.

"How will we get down to the ground?" Lucario asked. When they used to hold tournaments, Master Hand had jokingly told all the Smashers they had to find their own way up to get to the floating stadium. Some lucky contestants that had some method of flying easily made it. Samus herself had always asked Fox if she could hitch a ride on top his arwing and the pilot had never said no.

"Don't worry, I'll ask Charizard to make a few trips and get us down," Red said, bringing out the fire pokemon. "Samus, you and Pikachu can go first."

"I can float down myself," Jigglypuff said. "See you guys in a bit."

After everyone safely made it to the ground, they began the long walk back to the town through the plains.

"It's so empty here," Pikachu whispered. A sudden rustle of leaves caused him to jump, accidently shocking the pokemon trainer who was beside him.

"It's alright, Pikachu," Samus said. "It's only the wind."

"Where are all the people of this world?" Jigglypuff asked.

"I'm assuming they just moved far away from this town." Lucario narrowed his eyes and stared ahead. "We're getting closer to the subspace. It's just beyond that hill."

"Hey!" Red motioned for them to stop with his hands. "Primids up ahead!"

Samus and Lucario ducked down but Pikachu and Jigglypuff ran ahead. They caught the three primids by surprise and took them out with a quick tail whip and tackle move.

"Not so fast, you guys," Red said running up to them. "We don't want to attract attention."

"There's more coming," Lucario said.

The group quickly ducked behind some trees and watched as another group of primids walked past them.

"How many of them are there?" Samus whispered.

Lucario's eyes glowed. "About five."

"There's probably a lot more by the subspace," Jigglypuff replied. "I think they're patrolling this area."

"Then we need to somehow find a way to Smash Mansion without attracting their attention," said Pikachu.

Samus nodded. "They're gone. Let's get a move on. Head for the forest."

The group ran as quickly and stealthily as they could with Pikachu, being the smallest, at the front, in case anymore primids appeared behind the hills. The tall grass also hid them away from the primids' eyes as they reached the cover of the trees.

"It'll take longer to get to the town through the forest but at least they can't see us in here," Red said as they all visibly relaxed.

"Let's keep moving then," said Lucario.

As they walked past the huge dome of subspace, Pikachu growled. "I don't like how it's still here," he said, glaring at the black entity in the distance.

"Tabuu's still inside," Jigglypuff murmured. "That's got to be why there's so many primids here."

"We'll deal with them later," Samus said. "I want to see if the mansion is still there."

"The town's over here." Red frowned they approached the town.

There was nothing left of it but bits of wood and cement. Some old buildings remained standing but were left in terrible shape. After checking for enemies, they cautiously approached the town.

"I can't sense any humans here," Lucario said quietly.

Red kicked away some dirt as they walked down a cement sidewalk. Some parts of the road still existed. Other parts that had been blown off had grass and weeds growing over the craters. The group didn't say anything and instead trained their eyes on the ahead, looking for the enemy.

Smash Mansion was just on the outskirts of town, quite some ways away from the subspace. Samus gladly walked in the direction opposite to where the primids were and hoped that there were none in the streets. She spoke too soon.

A group of primids came out of a building ahead of them and spotted them. Screeching, they charged. At once, Red had Blastoise out and the primids were blown away by a blast of water from its cannons before they could do anything.

"Shit, the others might've heard them," Red whispered.

"Let's run," Jigglypuff cried.

The small group forgot about being cautious and instead sprinted in the direction of the mansion. As they climbed up a small hill, they saw it.

"It's there!" Jigglypuff gasped. "Smash Mansion's still there!"

Sure enough, Samus could see the mansion in the distance. It still looked the same as how they last left it, with the windows shattered and the front doors broken down but it still stood magnificently high above them as they approached closer. One of the pillars on the front porch was on the verge of collapse. Samus winced, remembering how Duon had set off an explosion in the front of the mansion five years ago to lure them out.

"Be careful," Samus said as they ran inside. She raised her cannon arm as she quickly scanned the great hall before running off.

"Samus, where're you going?" Red called.

"To Master Hand's control room," she replied, climbing up the stairs.

"The control room?" Red jumped over some fallen ceiling lights. "What're you planning to do there?"

"I'll see when I get there. There must be something I can do."

Red and the pokemon followed her up to the second story and past the dormitories. None of them had ever been in Master Hand's control room but they knew where it was. It was the only door they weren't allowed to open but Samus passed by it many times.

"We're here," Samus said, opening the doors.

When she looked inside, Samus expected to see a room full of computers and machines, which she did. What she didn't expect was that they were actually working and being operated by a dozen of primids at the moment. The little robots also looked up in surprise when she threw the door open. They stared for about two seconds before letting out an angry screech and throwing themselves at the door.

Samus backed up instinctively, knocking into Red and pushing him back with her. Pikachu, Lucario, and Jigglypuff jumped into her place, ready to attack the primids.

"Don't hurt the computers!" Samus cried.

Pikachu, who was about to cast a thunderbolt, stopped and instead waited for the primids to come out of the room. As the others finished the soldiers off in the hallway, Samus ran into the control room and glanced around wildly. She quickly took off her power suit and placed it aside before heading for the central computer, and scanning the massive screen. When she got her bearings, her fingers started moving on their own on the keyboard.

"Samus? What're you up to?" Red asked from behind her.

"Trying to figure this out," Samus muttered. She pressed on a file on the computer and it opened. "See this? It shows what world the teleporters are in at the moment. Tabuu's henchmen already know this. Oh!"

"What is it?" asked Lucario. He and all the others were crowding around her, trying to read the monitor.

"They made new teleporters and deactivated the old ones!" Samus gasped. "See this list here? It's the codenames of our teleporters! They've all been shut off!"

"Can the old teleporters be reactivated?" Red asked quickly.

"I don't know… I'll try." Samus typed furiously on the keyboard. "No… shit!"

"Password?" Red squinted, reading off the screen. He gave Samus a blank look which she returned.

"I don't know Master Hand's password," she whispered.

"But how… how could the primids have figured it out?" Jigglypuff exclaimed. "I mean, it's _Master Hand's_ computer!"

"They… they hacked into the system?" Samus was at a loss for words. "How can they… I didn't know primids were capable of processing such complex information!"

"They didn't."

The group whirled around at the voice. Pikachu and Lucario immediately stepped in front, ready to confront. Purple aura encased Lucario's fists and electricity cracked around Pikachu's cheeks.

"I didn't sense an aura…" Lucario whispered. "Be careful, he's strong."

Someone standing outside, partially hidden behind the wall. Samus frowned, trying to make out who it was. The voice didn't sound like someone she knew. She heard Jigglypuff gasp beside her.

"Master Hand?" she cried.

"What?" Red lowered his pokeball. His eyes widened as he got a better look.

Lucario and Pikachu hesitated too. The figure at the door slowly came in and everyone immediately gasped and took a step back.

It was a giant gloved hand.

Hovering slightly off the ground, it floated towards them. For a moment, Samus really thought that their much missed benefactor had survived the last war and was now standing, alive and well, in front of them, but she suddenly realized that something was off. The hand seemed to be twitching every few seconds as it got closer. That was nothing like Master Hand's usual graceful glide.

It spoke. "Master Hand? Did you just call me Master Hand?" Its voice had a hard edge to it, as if it was scoffing.

Samus cursed inwardly. She had taken off her suit to work the computer but now had no time to put it back on. The others crowded protectively around her.

"Who are you?" Red yelled. "If you're not Master Hand, then who are you?"

"Yes, Master Hand," the giant gloved hand mused. "It's been long since I last heard that name."

Pikachu twitched his ears. "You know Master Hand?"

"Well… he is my brother after all."

"What?" Jigglypuff's jaws dropped. "Master Hand… had a brother?"

Red frowned. "Master Hand never told us he had a brother…"

"It was I who wanted it that way. You see, I don't like crowding around people. Too bothersome." The hand began convulsing and the others stepped back. It suddenly returned to normal again and it went on as if nothing happened. "My brother just haaaad to invite all of you to our kingdom, against my advice. I didn't like the idea so I left."

"You left?" Pikachu inquired. "For how long?"

"Well, when I came back…" The hand gestured to the outside. "… all this had already happened."

Lucario relaxed slightly. "What's your name?"

"Crazy Hand."

Samus couldn't help thinking how suitable it was for him.

Crazy Hand continued. "So you're these… Smashers… that Master Hand had recruited? Why have you come back here?"

"It's because we're trying to stop Tabuu, of course!" Jigglypuff cried. "Wait, a minute, you've been here all this time? Why aren't you trying to stop his army? They're going to bring him back and you're letting the primids come in and out of this room as they please?"

Crazy Hand gave a sharp spasm as if he was shrugging. "None of my business."

Samus stepped forward. "When you were still outside, you told us that they didn't hack into the computer. Then how did they manage to control the teleporters?"

Crazy Hand cackled. "I gave them the password."

Samus felt her heart fall like a brick. Red's face paled and Pikachu made a small disbelieving noise.

"Why would you do that?" Lucario asked, his eyes glowing dangerously. "Do you know what they are trying to do to this world?"

Crazy Hand shrugged. "Really none of my business. I just felt like it at the time, so I did it. It's gotten sooo boring here. I figured some excitement was needed to brighten up this dull place."

Jigglypuff took a deep breath. "What's wrong with you?" she cried, bouncing up to him. Red had to grab her and pulled her back. "Don't you care what happens to this world that your brother loved?"

"He was a fool," Crazy Hand said. "I told him all that he was doing was useless but he didn't listen. Persistence is a common trait among fools."

Jigglypuff's eyes brimmed with angry tears. "How can you say that?" she yelled. "Master Hand… he gave his life for Smash Kingdom! Everything he did… it was for Smash Kingdom!"

"Don't forget, even though he had true intentions, none of his plans succeeded," Crazy Hand said darkly. He suddenly turned back to the door. "Oh? Seems like things are going to get interesting."

Lucario's eyes widened. "Do you guys feel it?" he whispered. "The floor's trembling."

Pikachu ran outside and looked out the window. His ears flattened down against his head. "Guys!" he yelled. "Guys, there's something coming!"

Sure enough, as she reached the window, Samus could see that far off in the distance, the ground appeared to be moving like a wave. "Those are primids…" She tried to keep the shock out of her voice. "At least a thousand…"

"Wh… what do we do?" Jigglypuff asked fearfully. The others were all staring, too shock to answer her. The army of enemy soldiers were approaching fast. "They must've seen the mess we made back in town."

Samus gulped. It was now or never.

"Can you four do something for me?" Samus asked, trying to calm her heart. "Keep them out of the mansion for five minutes. Five minutes is all I ask."

"Samus? What're you going to do?" Pikachu asked.

"I have to try to hack into the computer. At least try."

"Or you can just ask me," Crazy Hand smirked from behind them.

Samus calmly looked over to where he was, leaning against the doorway, watching them panic with amusement.

"And if I did, Mister Crazy Hand, would you really tell me?" she asked.

Crazy Hand didn't answer.

"I thought so. Five minutes, guys."

"Got it," Red yelled, already running down the stairs with Lucario and Jigglypuff.

"Good luck, Samus," Pikachu said, sprinting after them.

Samus immediately headed back into the computer room, her mind already going over everything that she remembered from Master Hand. She tried other ways of accessing his computer files but everything required a password. She attempted to guess every password she could think of, but in the end, it was futile, like she expected. Master Hand's password could've been a long string of numbers for all she knew.

Master Hand's super computer was slightly different than the ones back in her world but Samus knew enough to try out a few things. She rebooted the computer, opened its safe mode, and continued on quickly, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Oh, you're trying to hack into it?" Crazy Hand observed from beside her. "It's not going to work, you know. My brother wouldn't allow things like that to happen."

As if to prove him right, a pop up denied her access. Samus growled in frustration.

Crazy Hand was now outside at the window and he felt the need to keep her up to date with what was happening outside. "Ooh the primids are almost here. Your friends went out to meet them. I think they're trying to distract them and lead them away. Wow the small one took out five at once with its lightning! And is that a fire dragon? That guy's got some dangerous pets."

Samus chewed on her lips as she tried to concentrate, her breathing growing more and more heavy as she grew more and more distracted.

"Oh nope… it seems their plan failed. The primids are running this way after all, even though they're causing quite a ruckus."

Everything she was trying wasn't working. Nothing, nothing was working! Samus slammed her hands down on the keyboard.

"Oh no… it seems that little pink creature is losing. She's too far from the others."

Samus almost fell to her knees. They were trembling and she didn't even realize. "Mister Crazy Hand, please…" She said in a small, hoarse voice.

From the tone of Crazy Hand's voice, he seemed please that he got a response. "Yes, what is it?"

"Please quickly leave the mansion."

Instead of receiving a sarcastic reply, Crazy Hand actually hesitated. "What did you say?"

Samus wiped her brow. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead from sweat. She straightened up and took a deep breath, trying to regain her focus. "I will keep working on this, along with the others," she told him. "It's best if you escaped though. I doubt the mansion will hold if the primids are not stopped."

Crazy Hand dropped his teasing tone. "You know you will not succeed," he said. "The primids might kill your friends out there."

"Not yet," Samus whispered fiercely. "As long as we still have time, we will all fight to our last breath. But I don't want you caught up in this, Mister Crazy Hand. You say that you do not care for the kingdom but I do not think that is the case. After all, why did you come back? You came back and you stayed, even though everyone else left. "

Crazy Hand did not say anything.

"Besides, I also don't think Master Hand would want his brother to get hurt," Samus continued. "Master Hand trusted us and I don't want to disappoint him."

"He's dead."

Samus shook her head. "His kingdom still lives. And we, as his chosen ones, will stop at nothing to save it. That's what it means to be a Smasher." She turned to look at Crazy Hand. "You can believe in us, you know. While you still have time, please entrust this to us and leave."

Samus returned to her work after that.

_There still must be some way,_ she thought, as she scanned past pages and pages of information. To her dismay, Master Hand's computer was one of the most complex ones she's ever seen, if not the most. As it dragged on, she was having a harder and harder time keeping the dread from clawing up her stomach.

Samus was used to working under pressure but there was something different about this time. Everyone was relying on her- not just the Smashers outside but also the ones still trapped back in their own world. And she was also hard pressed for time. If she couldn't save her friends outside, if one of them… died…

"Audi famam illius."

Even though her mind was about to explode from trying to block out the panic and focusing on concentration, Samus somehow managed to hear those words. She turned around to see Crazy Hand who had been quiet for some time.

"Pardon?"

Crazy Hand scoffed and headed towards the door. "It was a stupid story we heard a long, long time ago. I took it as what it was- a story. I think it sat a little deeper with my idiot brother though. The spelling is the exact same as the pronunciation." Crazy Hand paused before he left. "I'll take your advice this time, Miss, but you better make sure this mansion still remains in one piece when I come back. I've grown quite fond of it in these last few years. Well then… see ya."

With a quick snap of his fingers, Crazy Hand faded away and disappeared.

Samus finished typing in the password before she could even catch her breath. A flood of relief washed over her when the computer made a beep of approval.

It took two seconds for her to restart the teleporters. She pressed the 'activate' button on the screen and waited. The computer hummed and words appeared on the screen.

_Teleporter number one. Activation success._

Samus quickly changed around its setting to allow automatic teleportation to Smash Kingdom and then moved on to the second one. She trembled in excitement as teleporters two, three, and four, all activated in the matter of minutes.

_Please, oh please hurry_, Samus thought. She wondered how the others were doing outside. They probably couldn't hold out for much longer.

A sudden loud noise came from downstairs and made Samus jump. It sounded like a wall being broken down. She heard Red's voice, loud and frantic.

"Samus, they're upstairs!"

Samus could hear footsteps coming closer. She swore under her breath and took out her paralyzer, aiming it at the door. A primid had just opened it when Pikachu rammed into the robot, sending them both crashing down the hall.

Samus ran to the door. "Pikachu!"

"It's alright Samus, you keep working." Sparks flew from the electric mouse's cheeks. "I won't let anyone enter!"

"Alright, thanks! You just have to hold on for a while longer!"

Samus quickly headed back to the computer. She could hear fights breaking out all over the mansion as the primids finally began breaking past the Smashers.

It seemed to take forever, waiting for the computer to load while hearing loud crashing noises left, right, and below her, but she finally managed to activate the thirty fifth one. Samus gave herself a second to catch her breath before straightening up. Her job here was done.

She still had to help out everyone outside. The bounty hunter quickly put back on her power suit and ran out the door.


	10. Chapter 9

_Hello everyone! I'm back! _

_I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! T-T_

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

_Pikachu wasn't in a good mood. Nope, no he was not._

_He had lost to Link, by a hair's breadth, a few days earlier. Even now, Pikachu couldn't forget how close he'd been to winning. The pokemon wasn't used to losing, not when he defeated every single trainer that had tried to catch him ever since he was a pichu, so he wasn't used to the immense feeling of frustration that it brought. _

_Just as Pikachu walked out the door, he ran into Samus, who was on her way back with Snake. They had become good friends during training, just like how Pikachu got to know Samus a few months ago when they first started practicing together._

"_Hey, Pikachu," she called. "Heading out?" _

_Pikachu nodded. "Just for a walk," he replied. "Where did you go?"_

"_We just went for a walk too," Samus said, nodding at Snake. "Trying to calm our minds to get ready for the second round that's starting tomorrow."_

_Even though Pikachu was angry that he didn't make it, he felt excited for Samus. "Oh yeah, it's tomorrow," he said. "Who're you up against first?" _

"_Uh…" Samus glanced at the man beside her. Snake looked back indifferently._

"_Oh…" Pikachu nodded. "Well, good luck to you both."_

"_Don't need it," Snake smirked before walking into the house._

_Samus smiled and rolled her eyes. "He's going to lose," she told Pikachu before also walking inside._

_Pikachu kept walking down the path. He bumped into some other Smashers as he entered town. It was Marth, Ike, and Meta Knight. _

_Ike was rubbing his temple as he walked. "I can't believe I'm up against another kid," he muttered. _

"_You shouldn't underestimate Ness you know," Meta Knight said. "His psychic abilities more than make up for what he lacks in physical strength."_

_Marth waved at Pikachu as they passed. "Hey there Pikachu! You heading to town?"_

_Pikachu nodded. "Just getting some fresh air."_

_Pikachu watched the trio of swordsmen walk back to Smash Mansion and sighed. All three of them made it to the second round too._

_It was a hot summer day so Pikachu headed for the forest, wanting some shade and solitude. He almost made it, when he bumped into Nana, Popo, Ness, Lucas, Diddy Kong, and Toon Link. The youngest group of Smashers were kicking around a soccer ball. Except the game they were playing wasn't exactly old fashioned soccer._

"_Pass to me, Lucas!" Ness sprinted past the others._

_Lucas kicked the ball towards him but it was intercepted by Popo. Nana and Toon Link perked up at this._

"_Get it to Toon Link!" Nana cried, blocking off Diddy Kong's path. The two began exchanging blows with their hammer and peanut gun as Popo ran past. A couple of passing townspeople quickly ducked out of the way of their "soccer game"._

"_No, you don't!" Ness cried, shooting a PK fire at Popo. The ice climber dodged and conjured up a block of ice from mid-air which he launched at Ness with his hammer. As he was preoccupied, Lucas swiped the soccer ball and ran in the other direction._

"_Ack!" A chain latched itself onto Lucas' arm and stopped him from moving. Instead of going after the ball, Toon Link waved his sword wildly, more eager to attack Lucas. As the two of them grappled, the ball rolled to Ness._

"_Toon Link, take this!" Ness yelled, stamping his foot into the ground. Sparks flew around his feet and cackled with energy. He gave the ball a furious kick and it shot like a bullet through the air. Toon Link yelped and threw himself onto the ground and the soccer ball crashed into the walls of a building behind him._

_Ness gulped._

_The soccer ball exploded on impact and the concrete wall wasn't spared either. A crater appeared from where it was struck. Cracks traveled down the sides until the entire thing was split in half. As Pikachu watched, the wall crumbled to the ground, revealing a few very surprised people inside. One of them was on the toilet reading a newspaper._

_Ness' jaw dropped. "I-I'm sorry!" he cried, turning to his friends… only to find that they had all ran off._

_Pikachu decided to leave then too, before he got roped into the mess. Although he felt somewhat guilty for leaving Ness by himself, it didn't stop him from sprinting full speed towards the forest. _

"_Geez, how am I supposed to find peace and quiet…" the electric mouse thought to himself. "When everyone here is crazy?"_

_Pikachu walked a bit further than he usually would that day. It was a nice day and he didn't have any other plans so he strolled until he couldn't see the town anymore. As he kept walking in the forest, he slowly forgot about all his worries and instead allowed himself to enjoy the cool summer breeze that blew through his fur. _

_Pikachu hated being cooped up which is why he remained a wild pokemon. Although he never had a trainer, he was still exceptionally strong compared to the other pokemon in Viridian Forest and never had any trouble defeating humans who had tried to capture him. He was lucky that he was born with greater physical strength and electric powers than others of his species. It had helped him survive by himself. _

_Pikachu didn't head back to the mansion for lunch and instead ate some berries he found on some bushes. He also found a small bubbling stream and decided to follow it so he wouldn't get lost. The thought of heading back only occurred to him when he noticed that it was already late afternoon._

_Was the day about to be over already? Pikachu shook out his fur and sighed. He should get going. It would be night by the time he reached town and Master Hand wouldn't like it if he missed curfew. _

_Pikachu was about to head back when he noticed something moving, causing the leaves to rustle on the nearby bushes._

_He frowned, cautiously approaching the bush. Something crawled out from underneath. At first, Pikachu thought it was just a bug when numerous others began to appear. They were dark purple in colour and didn't seem to have a distinct shape, just a spherical form._

_Pikachu backed up in surprise. _

_The little orbs clumped together and slowly merged into the form of a green humanoid creature. It twitched as it was fully formed. Then, it turned to him, its red eyes unblinking, and attacked._

_Pikachu took it down quickly with a thunderbolt before it even got close. As he watched, the creature dissolved back into its previous dark particles which scattered._

_Pikachu stood and watched, his heart thumping in his chest. Whatever that just was, it wasn't very strong, but it didn't naturally belong in the forest, that's for sure._

"_Was that Master Hand's creation?" he thought to himself. For some reason, he didn't think so. The green creature had given off a different feeling that didn't seem to belong to Smash Kingdom._

_Pikachu turned and ran for the town. He had to tell Master Hand right away._

* * *

Pikachu growled as the fur on his back bristled. As Samus tried to work the computer, he and the others had fought desperately to buy her some precious minutes.

The pokemon had distracted the primids while Red had Venusaur and Charizard use a combined attack. Venusaur attacked with petal blizzard and the second the flowers settled down, Charizard's fire spin blew past the area, roasting everything it touched. Using the flower petals to fuel the flame made the primids catch on fire in an instant. As they were defeated, their body split off into tiny dark purple orbs and dissipated into the air.

Pikachu's heart dropped as he scanned around for his friends. They were being separated as the primids were slowly winning. He suddenly heard a cry from Jigglypuff and turned around just in time to see her being buried under a mass of soldiers. Pikachu jumped into the air and shot a thunderbolt at one of them. His moves were extremely effective against the primids because they conducted electricity. The thunderbolt traveled from one of them to the rest and they all convulsed and fell.

When the primids began to ignore them and slip past, Lucario ran in front of the entrance and repelled any robots that came up with his aura sphere. The other Smashers drew close to him, slowly being forced back to the front door.

"We're running out of time," Red grimaced.

Pikachu had to agree with him. They had only taken down a hundred or so and more were appearing from far away, still running through the town. They were all slowly gathering, getting ready to charge.

"Guys, back up." Red stepped in front of them. "Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise!" he yelled. His three pokemon that had been wreaking havoc amidst the primids quickly returned to his side.

"You guys ready? We're going to combine your attacks!" The pokemon's eyes widened and they gathered close. Pikachu could see them tense up, ready to react on Red's command. The flower on Venusaur's back began to glow.

Red pointed to the middle of the army. "NOW! Venusaur, Solar Beam! Charizard, Fire Blast! Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

A brilliant beam of light expelled from Venusaur back, which was quickly combined with the water from Blastoise's cannons and Charizard's fiery breath. The attack blew straight through the middle of the army, creating a vortex that lifted primids off their feet. The small soldiers flew into the air, breaking into pieces. Pikachu and the others ducked as the strong wind also blew them back. The attack traveled all the way back towards the hills and after it was over, the primid army was split into two, right down the centre.

"The Triple Finish!" Jigglypuff remembered in awe. "Wasn't this the move you used as your final smash during the tournaments? It's gotten a lot stronger."

Red nodded. "Yeah, it has, after Squirtle and Ivysaur leveled up," He replied. "To make it fair, Master Hand only allowed me to take out three pokemon after I obtained the Smash Ball. If it weren't for that, I'd win easily," he joked, smiling before turning serious again. "Be careful, you guys, these robots are far from finished."

Lucario nodded. "You're right. There's still around five hundred left."

After the attack was over, Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur all lowered their heads, clearly exhausted. "You did good, you guys," Red said to them as he returned them to their pokeball. "You took out half their army."

He took three more pokeball out of his pocket. Lapras, Snorlax, and another pikachu appeared in a flash. They looked at the other pokemon beside them and called out a quick greeting.

Even though Red never used his other three pokemon back in the tournaments, the others still know about them. Lucario nodded and Jigglypuff waved.

"Pika!" Pikachu nudged the Red's pikachu's face in greeting. They were good friends.

Red grinned. "You guys ready? They're almost finished regrouping." Sure enough, the primids seemed to have gotten over the shock of the great attack and was growing angry again.

"No need to tell us," Jigglypuff said using defense curl on herself. "It's pokemon they're messing with! I'll kill them!"

Pikachu stepped forward, gathering electricity in his cheeks. "Lucario, if any of them gets into the house, message us!"

Lucario nodded. "Of course."

Pikachu then charged into the fray, electrocuting everything in his way. He could vaguely see Jigglypuff to his right and Snorlax lumbering around to his left but soon, he was moving so fast everything passed by him like a blur. He had the easiest time with the primids because he was the fastest and the primids couldn't touch him in fear of being electrocuted. Pikachu wasn't sure how many he took down before he heard Lucario's voice ringing in his head.

"I need help! They've entered the house!"

Pikachu skidded to halt as panic jolted through him. "Samus!" he thought, immediately turning back. He dodged through the primids and saw that the soldiers were filing in through the door. Pikachu buried himself between them. When he got to the door, he unleashed a thunderbolt, blowing the primids away from the entrance. Lucario then took his place guarding the door as he ran inside. Red was already inside with his pikachu and lapras.

"Samus, they're upstairs," the trainer hollered towards the stairs. Sure enough, Pikachu saw some primids running up to second floor. He bristled with anger and sprinted after them, shooting electric sparks at the ones he passed. When Pikachu reached the second floor, his heart raced when he saw a primid opening the door to the control room.

"Pika!" With a flying head butt, Pikachu sent the primid flying down the hall. He clawed at its head, ripping it to pieces. That was too close. They almost got to Samus.

"Pikachu!" Samus had come out of the room.

"It's alright Samus, you keep working," he assured her. "I won't let anyone enter!"

"Alright, thanks! You just have to hold on for a while longer." Samus looked tired but from the way her eyes were shining, he figured she had succeeded in something.

Pikachu looked down the interior balcony at the great hall below and saw more primids appeared. They were getting past Lucario at the front door and Red who had now backed up to the stairs. Pikachu was the last line of defense. He growled. No one was getting past him.

All of his friends were growing exhausted. Lucario was busy trying to provide support to both the battle going on outside and inside the house. Sweat dripped down Red's face and he fought alongside Lapras, commanding his pokemon while slicing down primids with one of their swords he picked up. They were losing. They were losing bad.

Pikachu tried to contact Lucario through his thoughts. "Lucario, can you hear me?"

He heard the other pokemon's reply, quick and staggered, his attention clearly somewhere else. "What?"

"How's the situation outside?" Pikachu asked quickly.

"Well… not good. Jigglypuff and Snorlax are with me but we're not going to last another min- what the?"

That was when a glint of light from something outside the window caught Pikachu's eyes.

"WA-HOOOO!"

Something white streaked through the front window, shattering the glass into a million shimmering pieces, and flew towards the ceiling, doing loops in the air.

"Whoa!"

The man lost his balance as he smacked his face into the ceiling. He half flew, half fell for a while, flapping his wings like a pidgey that had fallen in water. Pikachu expected him to crash land onto the floor. To his surprise, the newcomer quickly regained control. His wings began glowing in a mysterious blue light as he dodged walls and obstacles that came too close with shocking speed.

Streaks of blue shot around the great hall, piercing through several surprised primids. The arrows had no solid form. As the soldiers fell, they disappeared in a flash of light.

The newcomer stopped flying crazily and looked around, seeing Red who had also ducked out of the way of the arrows.

"Great Palutena, is that you, Red?" He yelled. He looked up to the second story, his wide blue eyes meeting Pikachu's. "And Pikachu? Whooa!"

Red and Pikachu yelled out his name at the same time.

"PIT!"

Pit grinned, twirling his twin blades. His look hasn't changed from before. He still wore his white tunic with sandals and wielded the bow of Palutena.

His personality hadn't changed either.

The angel's face stretched into a smug grin as if he believed his entrance was actually cool. "So you guys are back too?" he called, looking down from the ceiling. "It was so weird! I just finished taking a shower when I suddenly found myself back on the sky arena! Good thing my 'porter didn't activate a minute sooner, haha- Whoa, watch out!"

Red, who had been gaping up at the angel, didn't see the enemy behind him until it was too late. Pikachu was certain the pokemon trainer was going to receive a beam sword through his head when, out of nowhere, something crashed right through the mob of soldiers, intercepted the attack, and sent them all flying away. A blue blur hurtled across the room, rolled to a stop, stood up, and dusted himself off.

"Hey, can we chat later?" The thin creature with spikey hair looked over lazily at them. "We kinda have to take care of some unwanted guests."

Red's eyes widened even more. "_Sonic?"_

Pit grinned as he continued to shoot arrows. "Alright, chat after we kick ass. Funny I beat you here though! Thought you'd be first."

Sonic smirked up at the angel. "What're you talking about; I've been here for quite a while now. I was just too busy pummeling these guys to stand around and talk like you."

Chaos ensued in the bottom floor as the fighters jumped back into battle. Pikachu summoned lightning to help them out from above and took down whatever primids that managed to make it up the stairs but they seemed to be no end to them.

"Yow!"

Someone was coming in the front door again.

Pikachu heard the roar of a motorcycle and saw it crash through the primids gathered at the entrance a second later. A short chubby man wearing purple suspenders and a yellow hat jumped off his ride as it rammed several primids into the wall.

"Why's it so crazy here?" Wario yelled, smashing his way through to the others.

"Wario!" Pikachu cried. "You're here too!"

Wario yelled back, punching a primid's head off. "What. The. Hell. Is going on?" He punched a soldier with every word he spoke.

Something out of the corner of his eye caught Pikachu's attention. "Tell you later," he told Wario. "Just get rid of these things first!"

Pikachu zapped another soldier that came too close and backed up towards the control room. He suddenly heard the door click open and saw Samus reappear in her power suit.

She called him over. "Pikachu! I've finished with the teleporters! How's everyone doing?"

"We're doing fine," he replied excitedly. "Samus, others are beginning to show up! It's all thanks to you!"

Samus smiled at him through her helment. "And thank you for distracting the enemy for so long."

They ran down the hall towards the balcony where primids collided with them. Samus didn't use her canon in fear of blowing the mansion apart but she still dealt deadly kicks with her suit on. Pikachu was about to head down the stairs when he spotted a primid on the ground suddenly latch onto the bounty hunter's ankle, tripping her. Others immediately took this chance and jumped onto her with swords.

"Samus!" Pikachu yelled hurrying back.

A dark figure suddenly flipped over the balcony. With a swift kick, he sent the primids flying into the wall. When three turned around to face him, he grabbed them by their faces and threw them over the balustrade and watched as they fell.

Samus blinked in surprise behind her helmet when she saw his face. "Sn-Snake!" she stuttered.

The tall man turned and helped her up. "Not looking so good, are you bounty hunter?"

Pikachu exhaled in relief. "I'm going to head down and help the others," he told them.

Samus nodded. "I'm going stay on the second floor to guard the controls room. We cannot, at any cost, let them reach the computers."

"I'll stay with her," Snake said.

Pikachu nodded, feeling much more relieved that Samus won't be by herself. "Good to see you, Snake!" he called as he ran down the stairs.

Pikachu had thought that it had been chaotic on the second floor, but that didn't even begin to describe the scene on the first. Everywhere he looked, he saw the bodies of primids, pieces of broken furniture flying across the room, and occasionally, an attack from a Smasher. He could hear noises, too. Mostly the angry hissing of the soldiers or the loud crashes of a brawl.

Fights were breaking out all over the mansion. Pikachu could hear Pit's yells coming from the main hallway and as he got closer, he could pick up the sharp slicing sounds of Palutena's bow as the angel cut down enemy after enemy.

Pikachu thought he was in the main hallway but somehow, he ended up beside Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in the living room. The two of them were screeching and using chairs as weapons, throwing them across the room. Pikachu was about to jump in and help when a punch flew out of nowhere and knocked him into the room across the hall and he suddenly found himself beside Yoshi. The dinosaur gave a fierce kick that sent five primids flying away before spotting Pikachu.

Yoshi waved before returning to battle. "Hey, Pikachu!"

Pikachu smiled back but his attention was quickly drawn away again as the door to the room ahead suddenly broke off its hinges with a loud snap. He ran there to check the commotion.

Nana trampled out of the meeting room, screaming and ramming in the faces of nearby primids with her hammer. She had grown taller but he still recognized her from her pink jacket and brown hair.

"Hi, Nana!" Pikachu yelled running up to her. "Where's Popo?"

Nana's face beamed when she saw him. She gave him a hug, rubbing her face against his affectionately. "Pikachu! I missed you!" she cried. "Oh, Popo's on the roof. There's some primids up there but don't worry, he's got it."

Pikachu felt his heart thump so excitedly it was almost painful. He remembered how just minutes ago, he thought for sure they were going to lose. Now, with the arrival of so many new Smashers, victory was almost in their grasp.

"That's great! Thanks!"

He kept running until he was out the front door. Outside, the primid army had been reduced drastically. Pikachu reckoned there were only around two hundred of them left. That was because more and more allies kept joining the fight.

Pikachu recognized Falco and Wolf amidst the mob of soldiers. They were both yelling at each other and shooting with their blasters, without wasting a single shot.

"To your left!" Falco yelled.

Wolf snorted. "No need to tell me."

"Bet you can't take down more than me," Falco retorted, kicking off a primid's head.

Wolf smirked and reloaded his blaster. "Oh yeah?"

"Will you two shut up and fight?" Peach suddenly appeared, smashing her way through to the entrance with a frying pan. Luigi, Zelda, and Bowser were hot at her heels.

The blond princess looked at the two Cornerians with disdain. "I swear, those two haven't changed at all," she whispered to Zelda. As the group neared the door, they spotted Pikachu.

"Hey there, Pikachu!" Luigi tipped his hat at him as he ran into the mansion.

Bowser grunted something in his direction before going in. Pikachu assumed it was something along the lines of "out of my way."

Something seemed to be distracting Zelda. The Hyrulian Princess scanned over the battlefield worriedly before turning to go inside. She gave him a quick nod. "Greetings, friend."

Peach, the last to enter, smiled and bent down to give Pikachu a hug. "Good to see you again!" The princess turned to head inside when something stopped her in tracks and turned her back around "Oh, Pikachu! By any chance, have you seen Mario?"

"Mario? No…" Pikachu shook his head.

"Ah… alright." Peach looked around worried before running after the others. Pikachu frowned in confusion. Didn't Mario come with her?

He didn't have much time to think about it, for Pikachu suddenly felt himself being lifted into the air. Startled, he was about to run an electric current through his body when he recognized the scent of the person hugging him.

"Pikachu!" Marth cried, squeezing him tightly. "Pikachu! It's you!" The prince was so happy he even twirled around with him a few times before setting him down.

Pikachu shook his fur. "Hello, Marth!" he chirped.

He suddenly spotted primids running up from behind the prince. Pikachu was about to summon a thunderbolt when he heard a furious yell getting louder as someone got closer. A man crashed down violently behind Marth, sending the primids flying in every direction with a swing of his sword.

"Marth, focus! Now's not the time for you to be greeting everyone." The swordsman lifted his golden sword onto his shoulder. A bandana kept his spikey hair out of his vision as he carefully scanned the battlefield.

"Come on! We're helping out Olimar!" Ike turned and grinned at Pikachu before dragging Marth off.

Pikachu knew he should help out too but he couldn't help giving himself a second to watch the battle before him. He remembered how just a day ago, he was still sleeping back in the Viridian Forest in his world. Never in a hundred years would he have known he would be seeing this before him.

How long had he waited to come back? How long have they all waited? Pikachu couldn't really remember anymore, for at the moment, as he watched the tide of the battle turned before him, he felt invincible.


	11. Chapter 10

_Hii guys! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've uploaded! T-T_

_Anyhow, I'm glad I was able to finish one more chapter in the last fifteen minutes of 2014. Happy New Years, everyone! I'll make it my New Year's resolution to not give up on this fic. :)_

_Please enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter ten**

_Lucario sensed that something was off. _

_Not with the Smashers. They all seemed to be in good spirits. _

_The first Smash Tournament had just finished, with Samus emerging as the final victor after she defeated Mr. Game and Watch in the finals. Even though some of them didn't reveal it, all the Smashers were happy for her. Lucario could sense the excitement pulsing from them as they cheered at her victory. Peach and Zelda were practically exploding with it. Even Ganondorf emitted some emotions at the sight and Lucario decided it had to at least be respect. Even though he lost, Mr. Game and Watch congratulated Samus as much as the others, his gladness for her genuine. _

_No, nothing was wrong with the Smashers. _

_It was Master Hand that was acting weird._

_None of the others could tell that there was something bothering their patron. He didn't show it, after all. But because Lucario could sense powerful emotions, he noticed that something had been making Master Hand uneasy for quite a while now. _

_And from the way Pikachu had similarly behaved, Lucario assumed the electric pokemon was in on the secret._

_Lucario finally decided to confront him two weeks after the end of the tournament. _

"_Pikachu."_

_The other pokemon looked around the crowded dining room for Lucario when he heard the voice that no one else did. He saw Lucario and twitched his ears, waiting for him to continue._

"_Meet me outside." Lucario walked towards the door. A moment later, Pikachu joined him._

"_What is it, Lucario?" Pikachu asked when they were alone in the great hall. Lucario calmly took in the Smasher next to him. Pikachu didn't seem to be suspecting anything._

"_A few weeks before the final round of the tournament, when the second round had just started," Lucario said. "I noticed that something felt… off… with Master Hand. And you."_

_Pikachu's tail twitched. Lucario could sense the apprehension rolling off him in waves. Nonetheless, the electric mouse tried to keep his voice even._

"_I didn't know you sensed that," Pikachu said. "Wow Lucario… your powers are sure impressive."_

"_So what's going on?" Lucario narrowed his eyes. "Did you tell Master Hand something? Or did he tell you something?"_

_Pikachu shook his head. "It's nothing," he said quickly. He hesitated but then decided to continue. "Well, I guess since you pretty much know already, I can tell you what happened. I saw a strange creature the other day in the woods."_

"_A strange creature? Please do elaborate."_

"_It wasn't a normal being," Pikachu murmured. "It was created from some sort of dark coloured substance. I watched it take form right in front of me. And it was definitely hostile."_

_Lucario's eyes widened. "Where can such a creature have come from?" he rasped._

"_Don't panic," Pikachu told him quickly. "It wasn't very strong. I took it out with one attack. What bothered me was that it attacked me the moment it saw me. I came back as quickly as I could and told Master Hand what I saw." _

"_And… what did Master Hand perceive of it?"_

"_Well… he told me to not tell anyone else what I saw, in case rumors are spread and people start to panic." Pikachu scratched his head looking rather guilty._

_Lucario nodded. "I understand," he assured his fellow pokemon. "Do not worry, until this is further investigated, I will not tell anyone what you have told me."_

"_Thanks," Pikachu said, looking relieved._

"_That being said…" Lucario closed his eyes and mentally berated himself for not realizing it earlier because he was so preoccupied. "The same applies for the two of you."_

_Someone groaned and appeared from behind the corner of the hallway, receiving a surprised "pika!" from Pikachu. _

"_You really are the aura pokemon," Falco muttered, walking towards them._

_Ness followed. "We… um… heard everything," he said, flustered at being caught. "Sorry, Pikachu! But don't worry, we won't tell." He looked at Falco worriedly._

_Falco didn't look back. He instead focused his calculating gaze on Pikachu. "Can you describe what this 'creature' looked like?"_

"_Err…" Pikachu scratched his head. "Kind of like a robot wearing green armor? About the same height as Ness? Really suspicious looking but weak?"_

_Falco squinted his sharp eyes. "Where did it come from?"_

"_Look, I don't know any more than you do," Pikachu replied shaking his head. "All I know for sure is that this creature is bad news. When I mentioned it to Master Hand, it really, really bothered him. I caught him muttering to himself many times afterwards, trying to figure out the threat. He said he would tell all of us as soon as he thinks it's a danger to Smash Kingdom but he hasn't said anything yet."_

"_I, too, have sensed that Master Hand is troubled," Lucario whispered. "He has been thinking about this for weeks now."_

"_I'm just going to ask him about it," Falco decided._

"_But Master Hand said he'll tell us when he decides to," Pikachu cried._

_Falco sighed. "Alright, alright," he said exasperated. "But at least let me tell Fox."_

"_Can I tell Lucas?" Ness asked tentatively._

_Pikachu groaned and leaned his head against the wall._

* * *

As he watched the last few remaining primids crumble into shadow bugs, Lucario felt his knees give away.

"Lucario! Are you alright?" Popo was running up to him with worry flashing through his eyes. "You look really tired," he said. Although he had a few bruises himself, the young ice climber rested his hammer on his shoulder as he ran, still looking alert and ready to fight.

"I am fine." Lucario shook his head to clear his foggy mind. He didn't know for how long he had fought. The battle had clearly taken its toll.

Popo grinned and tackled him with a hug, surprising Lucario greatly. "I'm so happy to see you!" the ice climber cried, squeezing him so tightly he couldn't breathe. "I thought I'd never come back here again!"

Lucario hesitated before returning the hug. The powerful happiness Popo was giving off was affecting him too. "It's good to see you too, Popo," he replied.

"You were already here when Nana and I arrived," Popo recalled, releasing his grip. "And some of the others. How were you guys so fast when we practically sprinted all the way here?"

The two of them headed back to the mansion together. Popo told Lucario about what happened when he and his twin sister appeared on the sky arena. "Let's see…" Popo tapped his chin. "Sonic, Peach, Zelda, DK and Diddy… Ike… and some others... They were all appeared at the same time as Nana and me. We were all really confused and shocked. But we were really happy to see each other again. Nana almost started crying." The young ice climber blinked. "Oh, yeah, Zelda and Peach said that Link, Mario, and Lucas got kidnapped by Tabuu's minions!"

"What?" Alarmed, Lucario forgot about his fatigue.

"They didn't get to finish their story because Ness spotted the commotion back at town and we realized we had to get there first," Popo babbled. "Sonic and Pit immediately took off and then the others that could jump off the sky arena without dying followed. Nana and I and some of the others… we kind of had to wait around until thankfully, Olimar appeared on his rocket ship which brought us down."

Popo scratched his head. "I really wanted to get here faster."

"No, it's amazing how you all arrived so quickly," Lucario murmured. Even after all this time, so many of the Smashers kept their teleporter on their person. If they hadn't, even if the teleporters got activated, the user couldn't arrive back here if they weren't touching it.

"I didn't see you though," Popo said. "Yet, when I arrived at the mansion, you were already here fighting!"

Lucario swished his tail as he looked around the mansion. Most of its walls were dented and the wooden ground was filled with craters. The windows and doors were broken down and half the stairs had been blown up by an explosion. "Samus, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Red, and I arrived a little differently," he told Popo. "We'll tell you everything after everyone settles down."

The Smashers all gathered in the dining room. It seemed as if everyone headed there almost instinctively. It was, after all, the room that they met up for meals together before; one of the only rooms in the mansion which contained all thirty five of them at the same time.

As his battle fueled adrenaline died down and he watched his friends greet each other, Lucario suddenly realized just how long it had been since he last saw them. People were laughing, crying, and waving at each other from across the room. The strong emotions he sensed made his heart soften at the sight.

Ike picked up Nana and toss her into the air, claiming how much she's grown and the ice climber squealed with delight as the mercenary caught her and set her back down. Pit was babbling away as usual while he bandaged up Red's shoulder. The pokemon trainer seemed rather embarrassed by the gesture, but the angel laughed it off. Even Wario and Bowser seemed happy. They didn't even push Jigglypuff away when she gave them a hug.

"Go and greet the others," Lucario told Popo when the boy waved excited at Diddy Kong. "We can sort out the confusion later."

"Okay!" Popo ran off eagerly.

"Lucario!"

The pokemon turned just in time to see a boy wearing a red cap before he found himself in yet another bone crushing hug.

"N-Ness!" Lucario's eyes widened when he saw who it was. The psychic boy had grown since he's last seen him.

Ness smiled at him. "I missed you," he said, his voice cracking. He sounded happy but Lucario sensed something troubling him under all the happiness.

Lucario purred. "I missed you too, Ness. You-"

"Ness!" Someone crashed into the blacked haired boy from the side, sending them both tumbling away. Lucario blinked in surprise before seeing that it had been Nana. She laughed and started talking away and Ness smiled when he recognized another one of his old friends. Lucario decided to ask him later about what was bothering him.

"Lucario!" Lucario gulped and raised his arms defensively. He wasn't going to get hug tackled again. Luckily, it was just Yoshi who greeted him with a slap on the back. They chatted for a while before Yoshi was called away by Pikachu and Jigglypuff.

Lucario sighed contently, glancing around the room. He made eye contact with Wolf and nodded in greeting and the pilot walked up to him.

"Look at you, standing all by yourself," he smirked. "Same old Lucario, huh."

"I could say the same for you," Lucario replied.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Twenty excited pikmins jumped on me when I stepped in the door 'cause their leader tried to greet me," he muttered, making an annoyed face. "So yeah… tearful reunions aren't exactly my thing."

"But still, you're still happy to be here aren't you?"

"Aw, shaddup."

Lucario purred in amusement. However, it wasn't long before he noticed something was off. Even though most of the emotions he sensed were happiness and excitement, he could also make out a deep anxiety coming from more of his friends.

Peach and Zelda were exchanging worried looks as they walked through the crowd, their uneasiness showed in their stiff shoulders.

Luigi was talking to Falco so fast he didn't even have time to draw a breath. The plumber gestured frantically with his hands as he told his story and Lucario caught on to bits and pieces of it. "…attacked… the teleporter worked…and… Mario got taken away."

Falco's eyes grew wide as he listened. "This can't be a coincidence," he whispered. He turned abruptly to face the others and raised his voice. "Hey, everyone! Listen up! Sorry to cut this happy reunion short but there's something you need to know."

Lucario was so busy listening to the others that he didn't sense Olimar coming up from behind him. The little captain, like always, was followed by his pikmins. He was also frowning.

"What's going on?" Olimar asked, almost to himself. His pikmins all shook their heads in confusion.

Lucario took a breath and concentrated.

"Everyone, can I have your attention please?" he asked.

Even though it was noisy in the big room, no one could've missed the voice in their heads. They all looked around for pokemon responsible.

Lucario walked towards the centre of the room as he continued speaking. "I know it has been far too long since we've all last been together and I would let to celebrate with all of you but it seems we have much more dire matters to consider."

He looked pointedly at Zelda, Peach, Ness, and Falco whom he sensed have some urgent news to share with everyone and tried to radiate as much calm energy to them as possible, hoping they'd understand and try to relax.

"But before we move on, I think you all deserve to know why you're back here." The room was suddenly filled with curiosity. Lucario nodded at a certain woman, willing her to take over. "Samus?"

Samus, who had been talking with Bowser, Wario, and Jigglypuff, walked over to the front of the crowd.

"About two days ago," she said, taking out a teleporter. "This came into my possession. As we all already know, after Master Hand last sent all of us away, the teleporters had stopped working."

A few of the Smashers nodded.

"This one, however, worked," Samus said. She gave a quick summary of her fight with Ridley and her journey to the pokemon world. This received a few mutters of surprise.

"How did a teleporter end up in Ridley's possession?" Nana asked.

"Tabuu's followers learned how to control the teleporters!" Jigglypuff declared. "They broke into Master Hand's control room in this mansion and began using the portals to travel outside of Smash Kingdom."

"Duon appeared in Mushroom Kingdom!" Peach bursted out. "He kidnapped Mario after destroying Toad Town."

Everyone started murmuring at once when they heard the news. Lucario's ears flickered from one direction to another, picking up different Smashers' voices as they talked over one another.

"What?" Sonic exclaimed. "He kidnapped Mario? Where did he take him?"

"I don't know. They disappeared on a portal!"

Zelda stepped forth. "Yes," she said as calmly as the situation would possibly allow her. "The same happened with Link. Petey the Piranha came after me, Link, and Ness in Hyrule."

Red looked over at the younger boy. "What were you doing in Hyrule?" he asked, greatly confused.

"Long story…" Ness said. "I ended up there when Galleom came after me and Lucas. He was after some strange shield-"

Marth, who was standing beside Snake, suddenly jolted. "Shield?" He walked over to Ness. "Did you just say shield?"

"Do you know where it is?" Ike asked, running up to Ness.

"Uh… I don't…" Ness stuttered.

"Alright, what is going on?" Wario suddenly threw up his hands in exasperation. Lucario felt just as confused as the short bulky man. "Can someone explain how we got back here and why Smashers are disappearing left and right?"

"Everyone!" Pikachu jumped onto the table so everyone could see him. "It was Samus who brought you all back. Samus went to Pokemon world and recruited all the Smashers there and took us here. She then figured out how to control the teleporters like Master Hand. We tried to bring the teleporters back to life and were found out by the primids. As they attacked us, Red, Lucario, Jigglypuff and I fought them off as Samus kept working. You should all know what happened next."

Lucario suddenly heard Samus' voice in his head. She was giving him a hard stare. "Lucario, please tell Pikachu to not mention Crazy Hand yet," she urged.

Lucario quickly sent her message to the mouse pokemon telepathically. He did the same with Red and Jigglypuff. They looked over to him questioningly but didn't say anything.

Pikachu continued. "That's what happened on our part," he said. "About all the kidnapped Smashers… I have no idea what's going on."

"Ness can help us with that." Zelda nodded at Ness and the psychic boy told everyone of what he went through, from fighting in Eagleland to traveling to Hyrule to ending up in Mushroom Kingdom.

"After Mario was taken away, only a day later, everyone at Mushroom Kingdom was brought here," Ness finished.

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "So that's what happened to those three." He said turning to Falco. "Fox isn't here either. Did the same thing happen to him?"

Falco nodded. "Yeah. Porky came searching for us just a few days ago." He looked over to Ness whose eyes mirrored his worry.

"Porky…" Ness murmured. "He's stayed here all this time. I haven't seen him in Eagleland in years."

"Same with Petey," Peach growled. "What about Ridley, Samus?"

"I think he was also stuck in Smash Kingdom, after Master Hand's death," Samus whispered. "I didn't see him before he got the chance to teleport back to my world and attack me. With him gone, my world stayed peaceful for a few years." Samus looked down. "At least… somewhat peaceful."

Lucario knew that the galactic world the female bounty hunter came from was a cruel place. The harsh atmospheres there would destroy her if her body was any less tough and whatever few other living beings she encountered wouldn't hesitate to kill her on sight. Out of all the Smashers, Samus might be the toughest because her everyday life acquired her to be constantly on edge simply in order to survive.

Falco cleared his throat. "I told Wolf there about what happened with Fox but we hardly had time to search for any way to return. But then…" He fished his teleporter out of his pocket and twirled it in the air. "It was all solved for us." He gave Samus a rare look of appreciation and gratitude.

"We have to rescue them!" Peach cried. "The news of us coming back will soon if not already reach Galleom, Duon, and the other stronger enemies. We can't just sit here and wait for them to attack and capture us!"

"Of couse we will do anything to help," Lucario assured her. "But you have to understand… we have no idea where they are right now. And also…" He turned curiously to the two swordsmen. "What is this shield that you speak of?"

Marth hesitated, looking around. "The Fire Emblem. It's an important relic from our world," he explained. "A sacred treasure."

"We need it back," Ike continued. "It protects our world from the earth dragons that were sealed away by its power. With it gone, the seal is drastically weakened. If the dragons were to escape… very, very bad things will happen."

"The nations will be plunged into war, both against each other and the dragons." Marth rubbed his temples. "Not just Altea… but the other countries will be destroyed as well. My country is preparing for war against the threat as we speak."

The swordsmen's words sent a gloomy silence over the room. Everyone seemed to be having a hard time swallowing the reality of their current situation. Lucario's mind was swirling, from his own shock and also from the waves of dread he was receiving from others. Everything was happening so fast… and the news were nothing but dire.

Zelda quietly spoke up. "The Fire Emblem… its role sounds very similar to those of the charms on Master Hand's sealing gate."

Marth nodded. "You're right. The shield was put under the utmost protection deep in the treasure chamber of the royal castle in Altea. No one could've stolen it… unless they arrived in the chambers on a portal and disappeared the same way."

"What we're most afraid of is that the enemy might've removed all six jewels embedded in its front," Ike said. "The shield's power is in those jewels."

Marth was frowning at the ground. "Well, anyways, we'll deal with that later."

Ike frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked, turning to the prince.

"We have to rescue Mario, Link, Lucas, and Fox first," Marth gave him an assuring smile but Lucario sensed the prince's hidden apprehension. "Nothing can be solved until we're all safe."

"We'll get your shield back at the same time," Peach said firmly. "It's not just your problem. Tabuu's messing with all of us." Others nodded in agreement.

That was when Bowser spoke up. "So we're going to rescue everyone. That's great and all but just how are we going to find them?"

Luigi, who had been quietly listening, raised his hand. "Um… when Samus activated the teleporters, anyone who's touching them will be instantly taken to Smash Kingdom, right?"

Samus nodded. "Yes. I made it that way. Our other friends who aren't here right now will also be automatically brought back when they touch their teleporter. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long before they notice that it's working again."

"We could also go looking for them if they don't come," Pit suggested. He shrugged. "I mean, they might've lost it or something."

Luigi continued. "What I'm trying to say is… because, say Samus for example, was already in Smash Kingdom, she did not get taken to the sky arena when her teleporter was reactivated. Since we didn't see Mario, Lucas, Link, or Fox, it can only mean…"

"They're already here in this world somewhere," Wario finished gruffly.

"I don't know about you guys," Luigi said looking out the window at the subspace looming over the town in the distance. "But I think they're in there."

* * *

After the meeting helped clear the confusion, the Smashers settled down somewhat, and decided to spend a night in Smash Mansion. There were no serious injuries after the fight but everyone was tired. No one was in shape to run headfirst into the dangerous subspace. They decided to clean up the mansion tomorrow and also come up with a plan of attack to rescue their friends.

And overnight, new smashers slowly arrived one by one.

Samus and Snake took turns monitoring the computer and whenever a new teleporter appeared on the sky arena, they quickly turned on the speakers on the arena to send messages to the newly arrived. Snake had figured out that the speakers, just like the damage control in the stadium, could be controlled by the computer. Thanks to the two, the late comers knew to be cautious of lurking primids and sneaked to the mansion through the woods instead of through town.

The first to appear had been R.O.B. He met Yoshi who had been on night watch and Yoshi told him the whole story about their battle. R.O.B. had been furious when he learned about the primids trampling all over the mansion. The robot had always been some sort of a clean freak. Keeping the mansion clean had been his pride and he had often helped out the maids sweep and dust the house.

"Greetings, everyone," R.O.B. beeped when they've woken up. "It is wonderful to see all of you again. Now… which one of you destroyed the house?"

After R.O.B. came Mr. Game and Watch who ran into Sonic after he took over for Yoshi at the front door. Mr. Game and Watch told them that he usually had his teleporter with him except for when he was sleeping, when he kept it beside his bed. When he woke in the morning, it had been glowing and floating in the air in front of him. He grabbed it immediately and a portal whisked him away.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner!" Mr. Game and Watch cried during breakfast when they all went to greet him. "I… I'm so sorry!" He ran around the dining room, flustered, until Peach jokingly told him to knock it off and smacked his head with her umbrella.

Captain Falcon arrived in the early morning the next day when some of them were starting to get up. After his extravagant entrance, ("Captain Falcon has retuuuurned!") everyone was wide awake. After learning about previous day's battle, Captain Falcon vowed to never again leave his teleporter at home when he went out for a race.

"Captain Falcon is ashamed to have missed out on such an important battle and allowed his comrades to shoulder the pain alone," the man sniffed.

"It wasn't that bad," Ness assured him. "We weren't alone… I mean, there were more than twenty of us…"

After having a small breakfast of water and berries found growing outside, Zelda decided to travel back to Hyrule to find Toon Link and reason with Ganondorf.

"Toon probably left his teleporter in the castle before he went on his quest," Zelda said, taking out her own teleporter. "And Ganondorf… I hope he will listen to me this time."

"He better," Peach said presumptuously. "I'm coming with you. We seriously need to beat some sense into that jerk."

Zelda smiled gratefully at her friend.

"We're off," Peach said to the other Smashers that had gathered around. "Bowser, Wario, try not to kill each other."

Wario scratched his nose, glaring at the Koopa King. "Don't know what you're talking about, Princess."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Luigi asked.

Peach nodded. "We'll be fine, Luigi," she said smiling. "You think we can't take care of ourselves?"

Lucario felt a pang of sadness from Zelda as she listened to the man talking with his princess. She politely stood back and waited for Peach but her hands were clenched at her sides.

"We will bring Link back, Zelda," Lucario whispered to her. She heard his voice and looked over, her eyes brimming with gratitude.

Luigi gave them a salute. "Then please be careful, Princesses!"

Zelda nodded. "We'll be back very soon." She closed her hands around her teleporter and brought it close to her chest, whispered some words, and both the princesses disappeared in a flash of blue light.

* * *

Since the mansion had no food, every decided for Falco and Wolf to bring some over from their world because they could fly back from the sky arena quickly on their arwing and wolfen. The two of them grudgingly opened their portals and headed off.

The rest of the Smashers tried to clean up the mansion as much as they could. R.O.B. eagerly took the lead, repairing the walls with lightning fast speed.

Jigglypuff was sweeping up the main hall with Marth, Lucario, and Diddy Kong.

"Let's see," she said bouncing around with a broom. "Most of us have already arrived. Who are we missing, anyways? Aside from those troublesome Hyrulian guys," she muttered under her breath. "Poor Zelda, really."

"Meta Knight hasn't showed up yet," Marth said looking upset. "I sure miss him."

Diddy Kong suddenly stopped dusting the stairs railings. "No one from Planet Popstar's here!" he said.

"I wonder if anything happened to them," Lucario whispered.

Marth's face turned solemn at this. "I don't think any dumb primid's going to mess with Meta Knight. Kirby and King Dedede are very strong too."

"You're right," Jigglypuff agreed quickly. "Didn't Kirby win the second tournament?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember," Diddy Kong mused. "That sly little… he adamantly refused to reveal his final smash to anyone until he got into the finals! He would just hog the smash ball all to himself and never use its power."

"Kirby may not look it but he's very intelligent," Lucario said nodding. "Along with Meta Knight's masterful swordsmanship and King Dedede's brute strength, they'll give any one of the enemies a hard time."

Marth grinned. "Definitely!"

It was around noon when Falco and Wolf returned with food. Perfect time for lunch. The space nourishment looked hardly anything alike the berries Lucario was used to having but the fruits tasted similar.

"Hey, thish shtuff's pretty good," Ike said with his mouth full. He helped himself to his third serving.

Wolf watched the swordsman warily. "Don't eat it too fast," he sighed. "I don't want to spend my whole day running shopping errands…"

As Lucario watched everyone having lunch and chatting around a broken table, he couldn't help but think just how much they haven't changed. Sure, Ness, Nana, and Popo grew a little taller but the Smashers were still more or less their old self. If the dining room wasn't in such terrible shape, Lucario could almost imagine the same scene taking place back when the tournaments still existed.

Almost.

"Hey, Lucario."

The aura pokemon looked up to see a black haired boy walking up to him with a plate of food. Ness pulled up wobbly chair and sat down beside him.

"You feeling better from yesterday?" Ness asked.

Lucario shook his head. "I was never feeling bad to begin with," he answered.

Ness grinned. "No need to act tough," he said. "How long did you have to fight before help arrived?"

"Not very long," Lucario assured him. "The newcomers were all so eager to jump in, I practically sat back and watched the latter half of the battle."

He was glad when Ness laughed. Now that he was up close, Lucario could see the bags under the boy's eyes and wondered if he got any sleep last night at all. Ness absentmindedly picked at his food and chewed slowly, his mind clearly elsewhere.

His friend appeared cheerful enough while they talked but he couldn't hide his inner feelings from the aura pokemon. Neither could anyone else. And Lucario could sense, in each of them, some extent of pain that had never existed as evidently as before, all quietly hidden away. Whenever he locked eyes with one of them, he could see, could feel the sorrow in each of their hearts. However, they merely smiled at him before turning away, oblivious to it all.

Lucario remembered how in the past, he would find it annoying to deal with some of the others' wild antics. Now, he yearned for those days to return.

* * *

Samus, Snake, Mr. Game and Watch, and Captain Falcon were in the computer room, gathering information and strategizing.

"I can't seem to locate their headquarters on the computer," Samus muttered, scanning a detailed map on the screen.

"Zoom in on the subspace," Snake said, pressing a key.

Samus shook her head. "I've tried. You can't see into it."

"Then we're just going to have to be willing to take some chances," Snake decided. "Take them by surprise somehow."

Lucario's ears twitched as he listened and watched the group fuss over the screen. He will never understand computers. And he wasn't the only one getting impatient.

"Hey, hey," Captain Falcon said loudly. "Why don't we do this? Half of us enter the subspace from one side and the other half enter on the other side. Then," The racer jumped into the air, kicking and doing karate chops. "We destroy all the enemies and meet each other half way! Hmm? Does that sound good?"

Captain Falcon grinned proudly, oblivious to the silence that followed his proposal.

"Mr. Game and Watch," Samus said, the politeness in her voice making Lucario uneasy. "Could you please take Captain Falcon out of this room before he destroys something and make me mad?"

"O-okay, Samus!" Mr. Game and Watch grabbed Captain Falcon's arm and pulled him away. When the tall man began to complain and resist, the 2D creature knocked him out with his hammer and dragged his body out the door.

Lucario quietly followed behind.

* * *

The day came and went without anyone else showing up, and soon, evening settled over the town.

Zelda and Peach came back with Toon Link when the sun was setting. Zelda managed to get hold of Toon Link with her telepathy. He quickly headed back to her castle, reaching them in half a day. Zelda and Peach's difficult reasoning with Ganondorf didn't succeed and in the end, the three of them headed back without him. Peach had been furious, ranting over and over to the others about how she should've given him a good whacking. No one could blame her.

"I even brought my golf club!" Lucario heard her yell from across the hall. "Zelda wouldn't let me, but seriously, I should've just thrown him out the window of his stupid tower. How can she tolerate that jerk! The next time I see him, he better say goodbye to all his teeth!"

Zelda, by that time, was too tired to do or even say anything. Everyone tried to comfort her but none of them succeeded. Red and Pikachu insisted on making her some food but the elf princess shook her head, too exhausted to even lift her eyes off the ground.

"It's alright, everyone," she murmured. "I just need some rest, that's all. Please don't worry about me."

Poor Toon Link stood quietly to the side as the Smashers muttered worriedly to each other about what to do. Lucario only noticed him because of the strong waves of confusion he was receiving from his direction. He was about to walk up to the little elf when a couple of others got there first.

"Toon!" Diddy Kong cried, practically ramming into him with a hug.

"Toon Link!" Popo jumped onto him from the other side with Nana following close behind. "About time you showed up!"

"H-hey, guys!" Toon Link stammered, clearly startled. He grinned as he tried to free himself from the dog pile. "Wait, what's going on?" he suddenly cried. "Zelda explained some things to me, but I'm still don't get it. Where's Link?"

The other kids sobered up at the name. Diddy and Nana exchanged a glance as Popo tried to speak.

"Link was captured by the enemy," They turned to see Ness walking up. "But don't worry, we're going to bring him back." He gave his friend a small smile. "Long time no see, Toon!"

Toon Link seemed to be fine. Lucario then walked out of the room to check on Zelda. Peach had taken the Hyrulian princess to their room and had stayed with her until she drifted to sleep. After finishing up on their work, the others decided to head to bed too.

Lucario had to admit, the Smashers did a decent job of cleaning out the place. Everyone was tired yet no one complained. Well, except for Pit, and when he did, Lucario could hear his cries from across the mansion followed by others telling him to shut up.

Most of their old dorm rooms were still intact. After giving the place a good dusting, the Smashers eagerly moved back in with their old roommates, ready to spend their second consecutive night in the kingdom.

"This place certainly brings back memories," Lucario thought, glancing at his old bed. He let out a small sigh. His old roommate, Fox, wasn't here with him.

He could hear Nana and Popo across the hall, shrieking and laughing, apparently having a pillow fight. Lucario hoped the scuffle wouldn't escalate and the pillows be replaced hammers anytime soon. He could also hear Ness bringing Toon Link up to date on everything as the two boys walked down the hall to their room.

Lucario decided to save his daily meditation for tomorrow morning. He opened a small crack in the windows to let in some fresh air and fell onto his bed, instantly falling asleep.

* * *

He didn't know when he woke. He wasn't sure how. Maybe Diddy Kong, who was on night watch, woke him with his loud yells. Or maybe he had already been awake before that. Lucario wasn't sure.

He had to clear his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Even with his sharp vision, it took him a moment to adjust to the darkness. Lucario quietly slipped out of his bed and opened his door a crack, straining his ears to hear.

Sure enough, from downstairs, he could make out Diddy Kong's panicky cries.

Light suddenly flooded the hallway. Lucario blinked several times and squinted at Ike who was at the end of the hall, his hand on the light switch. The swordsman was in his undershirt and boxers. His roommate, Red, was beside him, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Ike spotted Lucario at his door and frowned confusingly at him.

Other people were also opening their doors. Bowser had walked out, followed by Mr. Game and Watch. Snake appeared while tying on his bandana, already dressed in his usual battle gear. Samus opened her door in her zero suit. Her hair fell messily around her shoulders but she had her blaster at the ready as she looked around, with Jigglypuff peeking out sleepily from behind her.

"What's going on?" Mr. Game and Watch whispered. "Why's it so noisy downstairs?"

Red shook his head. "I don't know."

"I'll go check," Samus said, heading towards the stairs. "Stay here, the rest of you."

"Like hell we are," Ike said quickly following after her after grabbing Ragnell from his room. Lucario glanced at Red who shrugged and ran after them after checking he had his pokeballs in his pockets.

They bumped into Samus in the great hall. She gave them a look. "How am I supposed to investigate when you're all trampling around like elephants?" she asked, looking at Bowser in particular.

By now, quite a few others have also shown up. R.O.B., Yoshi, and Luigi had joined the back of the group. A person dressed in blue suddenly shot past Lucario. He saw Marth for a second before the prince turned at the end of the hall, heading straight for the main entrance.

"Marth, hey, wait up!" Ike also forgot about his stealth and quickly sprinted after the prince.

Samus and Snake who was at the front of the group exchanged a look before also breaking into a run. As Lucario reached the door, he could hear Diddy Kong more clearly.

"-chased by primids! Out of nowhere!"

Lucario arrived just in time to see Marth piercing the last primid through the chest. It lay for a moment on the ground before dissolving. Ike was also outside, panting, his hands tightly gripping Ragnell. Diddy was trying to tell them what happened.

"I didn't see them because it was so dark!" he babbled. "-Should've jumped out to help sooner!"

"Diddy, calm down," Ike said. "You did fine."

It was too dark outside for Lucario could see anything but he could sense someone else beside the three Smashers outside. From the light from inside the house, he saw a large figure lying still on the ground. Yoshi quickly flipped on the porch lights. As the light basked into the front garden, Lucario's eyes widened in disbelief.

Everyone ran outside. After getting over the shock, some of the Smashers did a quick patrol of the area, searching for any possible lurking primids. Lucario, Ike, and Luigi ran to King Dedede but Marth reached him first. The swordsman gently put his hand on the king's shoulder, giving him a small shake.

"King Dedede?" Marth whispered. The massive penguin was lying face down with his eyes closed. His clothes were torn and his body was covered with numerous wounds.

His heart thumping loudly, Lucario checked to make sure he was alive. King Dedede was breathing but Lucario searched for an aura instinctively. Sure enough, although it was weak, he saw a hazy blue gleam shimmering around the king's body.

No… Lucario squinted. There was another separate aura, smaller than King Dedede's, under his arms. Lucario gently knelt down and pushed the king to his side. He was hugging someone closely to his chest.

Luigi helped lay King Dedede slowly onto his back. A soft gasp came from Marth as King Dedede loosened his hold around…

"Meta Knight!" Marth whispered, gently easing the unconscious creature into his arms. Meta Knight was in his usual attire of a cape, shoulder armor plates, and gloves, but he was missing his sword. His usual sharp yellow eyes were closed under his mask and his arms hung limply. Lucario didn't need to look closely to know that the star warrior was also heavily injured.

King Dedede groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He seemed to recognize the others and mumbled something under his breath.

"…didn't defeat them," the king whispered.

"King Dedede, you're safe now," Ike told him quietly. "We're all here. We'll get you inside."

"Nah, I'm fine." The penguin struggled to sit up but fell back down again.

"You're not," Luigi said firmly. "You have to be looked at."

"You better take care of Meta Knight first. I think he hit his head."

Marth turned and called some others over to help carry King Dedede into the mansion, and Snake ran to bring a stretcher. That was when Lucario felt a sharp pang of strong emotion from Ike.

The mercenary knelt down beside their injured friend and asked, "King Dedede, where's Kirby?"

King Dedede closed his half lidded eyes and his shoulders, if possible, sagged even more. He gave his head a small shake.

"Kirby's gone."


	12. Chapter 11

_Thank you for waiting so patiently guys.^^_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"_Hyaa!" Fox could see the surprise in Sonic's eyes as his roundhouse kick hit the hedgehog square in the chest. Sonic went flying out the arena but did a back roll in the air and landed on his feet. He was about to jump back and fight when he realized he had fallen out of the boundary._

_Fox grinned and twirled his blaster around his index finger before catching it and putting it away._

_R.O.B. who was watching from the side of the training arena raised his hand._

"_Winner of this battle is Fox," he said in his monotone voice. "Continue with new challenger, Fox?"_

_Fox shrugged. "Sure."_

_Some of the Smashers had been bored so they gathered at the training arena for a fight. It started out as a simple grappling match but then they all decided to incorporate weapons as the competitive spirit rose. That was when Mario went running to Master Hand, asking for damage control to be turned on so no one would be seriously injured. Fox guessed he couldn't blame the plumber for being flustered at the thought of unnecessary danger. Other than being a fighter, Mario was also a doctor so he had an almost instinctive desire to not want to see others get hurt. _

_Sonic picked himself up and growled. He headed back to where the others were standing, watching. Fox had to admit, the blue hedgehog was definitely the fastest out of all of them. However, with the right timing and moves, there were ways to use his speed against him. If he wasn't so light, one kick would not have sent him out of the arena._

_The other Smashers applauded at the good match but Fox noticed some of them regarding him seriously. He knew that a lot of them were here to observe each other's fighting styles to get ready for the second tournament which was starting in a week, but Fox didn't really care for hiding his true potential. He was here for a good fight, and that was all._

"_So who's next?" Fox called._

"_Here!" Ike grabbed his sword and practically sprinted into the arena before anyone else could react. The swordsman smiled and lifted his weapon. "I can use Ragnell, right?"_

"_I don't see why not," Fox replied. "I'm using my blaster, too." He crouched low, getting ready to attack._

"_Go, Ike! Kick his butt!" Toon Link yelled from the sides._

_Ike turned and grinned at the kids who were cheering for him. Out of the older Smashers, the swordsman got along best with the younger ones. Fox even caught him playing hide and seek a few times with them inside the mansion._

"_Battle start," R.O.B. sighed. The robot sounded so bored Fox wondered if it was because he was running out of energy and needed to recharge._

_Ike attacked first and charged with a loud yell. He swung his sword down, as if it was a hammer, and it hit the ground with a loud thud. If Fox had dodged a second later, he probably wouldn't still be standing. A chill ran down his spine. Ike's attacks weren't as fast as Sonic but even one of them could knock him out._

_Fox jumped a few feet back and began shooting with his blaster to tire out his opponent from a distance. If swordsmen had any weaknesses, it was that they didn't have long distance attacks. Ike blocked most of the beams with Ragnell but a few hit him on the arm. The shots didn't go through him because of the arena's safety control but Ike still winced from the pain._

_Fox decided to save a few shots for later, for he would have no time to reload during the fight. In order to surprise his opponent, he shot forward with Fox Illusion and appeared right in front of the swordsman before he could raise his guard._

_Ike's eyes widened in surprise as Fox kicked his legs out from under him. Then, to Fox's surprise, just before he fell to the floor, the swordsman stopped himself with his left arm and pushed himself back up. He attempted a kick at the same time, aiming at Fox's chest. _

_Fox dodged just in time so that it only grazed him and backed away with a backflip. He quickly reminded himself that even though his opponent was a swordsman, he didn't always fight with his sword. It was in this way that Ike's style differed from that of Marth's. While the prince would keep a safe distance and used graceful, deadly jabs with Falcion to defeat an opponent, Ike wouldn't hesitate to let go of his sword to punch and kick if that was what it took._

_The two of them paused for a moment and regarded each other carefully. The onlookers were quiet too, as if they were holding their breaths._

"_You're fast," Ike said, raising an eyebrow._

"_Your moves are hard to predict," Fox admitted. He stood up. "However, I'm ready this time."_

_This time, Fox charged first. He didn't use his illusion again but instead concentrated on dodging Ike's first attack. If he could get past the first sword swing, Ike wouldn't have time to defend himself. _

_Fox saw Ike raise his sword. He inhaled quickly as adrenaline shot through his body and provided him with a boost._

_Time seemed to slow down as Fox advanced. He could see the muscles straining in Ike's arms as Ragnell was being brought down. Fox blinked and the world seemed speed up again. Now! _

_He leaped into the air as Ike sliced the empty space in front of him. Fox twisted his body around and kicked Ike in the abdomen, hooking the swordsman's stomach and sending him stumbling away. _

_He didn't stop there. Ike was close to the boundary line. With a strong attack, the victory would be his._

_As the swordsman tried to stand back up, Fox crouched, quickly took aim, and propelled himself off._

"_Fire Fox!" Flames erupted from his entire body as he flew towards his opponent. Ike raised Ragnell to counter Fox's head-butt but he couldn't block it entirely. He was pushed back by the powerful, fire enhanced attack and stumbled out of the arena._

_Fox screeched to a stop just in time before he stepped over the line himself. It had been close, another inch and the match would've ended in a tie._

"_Whaat? I lost!" Ike cried, staring down at the line in dismay. He groaned and scratched his head, turning around to walk back. _

"_And the winner is Fox," R.O.B. announced._

_Fox smirked as the others applauded. He was on a roll today._

"_Well, it's almost lunch time," Fox called out to the Smashers watching. "Anyone want to have one more round or shall we stop for now?"_

"_I'll brawl with you." _

_As he watched Samus stand up and walked onto centre stage, Fox's face slowly broke into an excited grin. Samus had gained quite a reputation after she won the first tournament._

"_You're not wearing your suit?" he asked._

_The tall bounty hunter shook her head. "I left it back in my room," she replied, raising her gun. "Don't worry, I have my paralyzer with me. I can fight fine with it."_

_Fox smirked. "Alright." Fox brushed his blaster and reflector strapped at his waist, ready to use them at any time. "Then come on."_

* * *

Fox couldn't stop his ears from twitching.

He wouldn't exactly say he's claustrophobic… not when he spent so much time in the small confined compartment of an arwing flying through outer space. But at least on an arwing, he still had control of where to go and what to do. And whether it was engaging in a dog fight or attack enemy ships, it was far better than this.

Fox paced up and down the cell, occasionally stopping to rattle the bars.

"Let me out," he hissed to no one in particular. A couple of primids guarding the jail cells turned to look at him but then simply turned away.

"Why won't the teleporter work in here?" he asked to no one in particular. About a day ago, the teleporters of the captured Smashers had been glowing. They had all tried to open up a portal but it didn't appear. Link had reckoned that being in the jail cells was somehow preventing it.

"There's probably some force surrounding this place that prevents escape using magic," Link had said. "Just like how Zelda couldn't use her magic when Piranha trapped her in that cage."

Fox sighed loudly, trying to shake the irritation off his shoulders, and sat down. Hardly two seconds later, he stood back up and started pacing again.

Mario groaned from the other end of the cell. "Fox, could you stop?" he pleaded. "Just watching you is agitating me to no end."

"I can't help it," Fox muttered back. His tail was also starting to twitch. He lashed it around angrily. "I need to get out of here!" He proceeded to bang his head continuously against the wall, hoping it would distract him for a few minutes.

Mario groaned again and buried his face into his hands. "Why did I get stuck with you…"

Fox heard Link's voice from the other side of the wall. "Mario?" he called. "Is Fox going crazy again?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Mario replied. "And I'm afraid soon I will be too."

"I'm not going crazy," Fox grumbled. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "However, that being said, if I still have my blaster right now, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot myself."

"And I'll probably follow," Mario muttered. He suddenly looked up. "Hey, guys, someone's coming!"

Sure enough, Fox could hear the doors to the jail opening. He caught a whiff of hot metal and grease and wrinkled his nose in disgust. As Galleom walked towards them, Fox crouched back defensively. He could see Mario standing up to fight too. However, the robot didn't approach them. He instead walked over to the cell directly across from Fox and Mario's and tossed someone in before locking up and leaving.

Fox and Mario ran towards the bars and Fox could hear Link and Lucas doing the same.

"Who is it?" Link asked.

The creature groaned and sat up. It was in the shadows of the cell but Fox could see its round shape and pink colour.

"Kirby!" Mario yelled. "Is that you, Kirby? Are you alright?"

Kirby shook his head and looked around, seeing the others. He blinked rapidly.

"What the? Where am I?" Kirby asked, walking up to the front of the jail. "Fox? Mario? Link, Lucas? Is that you guys?" Fox and Mario waved when Kirby called their respective names.

Lucas smiled weakly. "Hey, Kirby. Welcome back to Smash Kingdom."

"Unfortunately, you're at the enemy headquarters," Link said.

"What happened to your arm, Link?" Kirby asked. "Why's it in a sling?"

"I kind of broke it," Link said. "Don't worry, it's healing. But what did they do to you?"

From the way he was limping, Fox could tell that Kirby had taken a beating. The star warrior could hardly even stand as he leaned against the bars for support.

"About a day ago, Galleom came to planet Popstar," Kirby recalled. "Hey, is there any food here?" he asked suddenly. "I'll heal faster if I eat something."

"There should be some bread at the corner," Fox said, pointing. "Don't eat too fast though, they only feed us the bare minimum so we don't curl up and die."

"Too late," Lucas said as Kirby quite literally inhaled every last crumb.

Kirby sighed and sat back down. "Better than nothing," he said. "Oh, yeah, where was I?"

"You were talking about Galleom," Link said helpfully.

"Right. So Galleom appeared in the middle of Dream Land but he came at a bad time because Meta Knight, King Dedede, and I happened to be all together. We fought for a long time. A whole day!"

"A whole day?" Lucas gasped.

Kirby nodded. "Galleom brought a lot of primids but King Dedede had his waddle dee army nearby so they weren't much of a problem. It was just the three of us against Galleom. And we almost had him."

"And… and then what happened?" Mario whispered.

Kirby plopped down in defeat. "And then Duon appeared, that's what happened!" he cried. "We were quickly overwhelmed after that. The three of us were teleported here but luckily, I had a plan to save us! It kind of succeeded… I mean, those two got away."

"What did you do?" Lucas asked.

"Well, it's nighttime outside right now. We arrived just a few minutes ago. I took advantage of the dark and slipped out of Galleom's clutches."

Mario's eyes widened. "How did you manage to do that?"

"Galleom's not very smart. I transformed into a rock so he opened his hand to see why I suddenly got heavier. Then I quickly escaped and freed Meta and Dedede, but I think Meta hit his head or something 'cause he wasn't moving. So… I picked him up… and booted him away!"

"You did _what_?" Link exclaimed.

"I kicked him into the sky!" Kirby looked rather pleased with himself. "He flew quite far so Galleom and Duon lost sight of him in the dark. I then told King Dedede that if he didn't go after Meta Knight, he would probably die from blood loss and that since I was less injured than them both, I would distract the robots for a few minutes for them to run away."

Kirby sighed. "I was supposed to get away too, but Galleom caught me again. Now, I'm here." He sat down dejectedly. "I hope they're okay… they were quite hurt."

"What you did was really brave, Kirby," Lucas said. "Because of your quick thinking, your friends are safe."

Kirby smiled. Then he shrugged. "I don't know if they're safe…" he muttered. "There's probably primids searching for them right now."

"Well… they have a chance," Link whispered. "Hopefully, they'll hide away."

"Kirby, why didn't you use your teleporter to get away?" Mario cried.

Kirby cocked his head in confusion. "What are you talking about, Mario? The teleporters don't work anymore."

"No, they're working again!"

"What?" Kirby waved around his short arms in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"They were glowing," Lucas said, taking out his. "They can't be activated here because something's preventing it, but we're pretty sure they're working again."

Kirby listened silently before slowly looking away. "No way," he whispered. "I… I always keep my teleporter in my house. I know King Dedede keeps his in his castle. And Meta Knight… he probably left it on his halberd." Kirby stared blankly at the ground. "I don't believe this…"

"It's alright, Kirby," Mario said quickly. "It's not your fault. There was no way you could've known."

Kirby's eyes began to tear up. "I-I should've taken it everywhere with me!" he blubbered. "I should've swallowed it or something so it would always be with me!"

"No, you don't have to do that," Link said hastily. Fox and Mario stood by awkwardly as Lucas and Link attempted to comfort the crying creature.

"I'm not good with kids," Fox admitted.

"Although he acts like one sometimes," Mario said. "I'm not sure if Kirby's a kid…" Luckily, it seemed that Lucas was able to get through to the Popstar resident. Mario and Fox exhaled in relief when he finally stopped crying.

"So how did you guys get here?" Kirby asked, blinking curiously.

Link hesitated. "Um… how do we start…?"

"How about you go first Lucas?" Fox suggested.

Lucas nodded. "Okay. It's gonna be a long story, Kirby."

* * *

When Fox woke, the others were still asleep. He slowly stood up and looked around. The lights in the prison were on twenty four-seven and since the jail was underground and had no windows, he couldn't see outside.

"You lose all sense of time in this place," Fox muttered. He reckoned he's been sleeping for at least half a day, which meant Kirby arrived about a day ago.

Fox walked over to the bars and peeked around. There were still primids walking about (Gee, do those things ever sleep?) but other than that, it was relatively quiet. Or so he thought before he heard the voices.

"_Just how many of them are there?"_

The question was answered by a quieter voice that Fox couldn't pick up.

"You're telling me they're all back in that broken down house?" That was Porky.

"All… all the ones we didn't… capture." That was Galleom. "They took down… an army I sent two days… ago."

"It's all your fault, Ridley!" came the angry cry of Duon. "Why did you lose your teleporter? To Samus of all people?"

Fox leaned forward and strained his ears. Did he hear them right?

"Oh, shut up," Ridley's voice got louder. "If only you all listened to me when I said we should've acted sooner, we could've saved plenty of time instead of rushing around and making mistakes now. You and Galleom let Meta Knight and Dedede escape too. Besides…" Fox heard the angry snarl of a reptile. "I'll deal with Samus accordingly when the time comes."

"Then… what we do… now?" Galleom wheezed.

"Should we start now with the ones we've got?" Duon said. "There's no point in waiting. Now that the rest are all together, it will be a lot harder to take them down."

"Fox?"

Fox jolted at the sound of his name. He whirled around and saw Mario backing away.

"Whoa, Fox, what's wrong?" Mario asked. "You look-"

Fox signaled for silence. "Shh. Don't you hear them talking?" he whispered.

Mario frowned and cocked his head to one side. "No…" he replied. "I don't hear anything. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Fox said quickly. "But keep quiet for a second. My ears are better than yours and I can hear the enemy. Those guys are discussing something."

Mario quickly sat down and waited. Fox tried to catch on to the enemy's conversation again but they had stopped yelling and their voices were now too hushed for him to hear.

After a few minutes, he growled in frustration and leaned away from the bars.

"What are they saying?" Mario asked tentatively.

"I can't hear all of it but I… I think the other Smashers are all together." Fox looked over to Mario.

"Together? They've all found each other?" Mario whispered, bewildered. "But… how?"

"Our teleporters," Fox replied, patting his in his pocket. "They suddenly activated again right? Don't you think the others also noticed and came back here?"

"Oh, yeah! They must've all met up somewhere! Maybe on the sky arena."

"Probably back at the mansion from what I just heard," Fox said. "Porky mentioned something about a house."

Mario's eyes widened. "They're practically right above us!"

"I don't think they know where we are though," Fox muttered grimly. "But the enemy knows where they are. And they mentioned they were going to start something. Huh. I wonder what that means."

Their conversation then was cut short as the door to the jail bursted open. A monstrous reptile with leather wings walked in cackling, waking all of them up. Fox's heart began to leap faster as the Ridley approached.

"Gentlemen," Ridley said, eyeing them over. "How are you enjoying your stay? Your rooms are comfortable enough, I assume?" His voice sounded casual but his yellow eyes carried a malicious glint.

"Ooh, yeah, totally," Fox replied, trying to not let his uneasiness show. He walked up to the reptile. "I mean, stale bread and a bucket in the corner. What's not to love."

Ridley's cold eyes met his and didn't look away. "It seems you're still full of spirit, Fox McCloud. I was going to let you out first but since you love it here so much, we wouldn't want to rush your stay."

"What do you mean you're going to let us out?" Link yelled, gripping the bars with his good hand. His voice was hoarse from the lack of water.

"Patience, patience, Hero of Time," Ridley replied in an almost lazy fashion. "Your turn will come soon. Well… I supposed it is rather rude to not tell guests of your plans beforehand so they can adjust their schedule accordingly. My friends, I suggest you keep the next month or so free of planned occasions for you will be very, very busy."

Mario growled. "What do you mean?"

"A demonstration is in order," Ridley declared. He tapped the sensor lock on Link and Lucas' prison door and it opened with a small click. "Now, let's proceed with the explanation. I assume you're all familiar with the concept of shadow bugs, right? The tiny living parasite-like creatures made from matter similar to Master Tabuu himself."

As he spoke, Ridley reached in and grabbed Lucas. The boy cried out in surprise and he was lifted off the ground and taken out the door.

"Lucas!" Link yelled. He ran towards the door but was shoved backwards roughly by Ridley who locked the jail up again in a second.

Fox sucked in his breathe when he realized Lucas was being taken away. "What are you doing?" he yelled.

Mario pounded on the bars that separated them from Ridley. "Let him go!" he snarled.

Fox could also hear Kirby's panicked cries coming from the other side but Ridley continued on as if he couldn't see or hear them. "Well, these shadow bugs… they can do more than form larger creatures with others of their kind. As I mentioned before, they are parasitic. They can take over hosts but when there are none available, they can provide one for themselves in the shape of what you know as primids. Will you stop struggling? You're making this rather difficult." Ridley paused and glared at Lucas who was clawing and kicking for all he was worth.

"Wait, stop!" Fox pleaded as Ridley walked out the door. "Give Lucas back, he's just a kid! You can take me, alright? You can have me!"

Ridley turned back and smirked. "Oh, it will be your turn soon enough, Fox McCloud. Since you have such a sense of humor, I thought I should enlighten you on what you are about to go through to see what you make of it. It's all terribly amusing. You'll see."

The door closed behind them with an ominous thud.

* * *

_Whoops this story got a bit dark..._


	13. Chapter 12

_Okay... so it's been quite some time since I updated this story... I'm so sorry. T-T _

* * *

**Chapter twelve**

_Next to the first tournament, the second was a huge improvement. Not only did the Smashers fight smarter now that they were more experienced, Master Hand also went above Jigglypuff's expectations with the new additions he made to the stages._

_Now instead of having only one stage to fight on, there were multiple ones that could be chosen from. Master Hand had impressively researched each of the Smasher's home worlds and build stages to represent certain areas from them. When two players are about to brawl, a stage is randomly chosen. It materialized in the place of the sky arena for the fight to take place in. _

_Master Hand didn't reveal this to them until the week before the tournament was about to start. Of course, it took them all by surprise. He wouldn't let them train in it, for he wanted to surprise the audience and also evaluate just how quickly and effectively the Smashers could adapt to different environments under pressure._

"_This is a new challenge to all of you," Master Hand announced. "Now, you can't only worry about your opponent for most of these stages themselves have obstacles that might cause you to lose if you're not alert."_

_This proved to be true on the first day of the tournament when Wolf was pitted against Olimar on the stage of Norfair, a volcano located in Planet Zebes from Samus' world. The bounty hunter's mouth dropped in surprise when the stage was announced and suddenly materialized. Everyone watching from the sidelines gulped at the realistic looking lava that was pouring over the edge of the stadium, disappearing as it fell off the sky arena. Jigglypuff could feel the heat waves from where she stood and wondered how hot Wolf and Olimar must feel, standing right above it. Before he started the battle, Master Hand ensured everyone that it was perfectly safe and that no Smashers would be killed by the stage, just like how they can't be killed by falling over the edge. They merely lose the match before getting teleported back._

_Poor Olimar looked terrified, peering down at the lava that only a thin platform separated him from. The little captain wouldn't take any chances and fought defensively, attacking only when Wolf attacked him._

_Wolf ended up taking the smash ball but he activated it too hastily. Everyone realized immediately that the landmaster couldn't be easily maneuvered on the Norfair stage. Jigglypuff could hear Wolf's angry yells and she wasn't sure if it was coming from the big screen or the actual Wolf was screaming so loudly they could hear him from where they sat._

"_Old Man, just how do you expect me to fight here?" the pilot yelled, frantically turning his landmaster to avoid a wave of lava that washed over half the stage._

_Master Hand, on the other hand, was looking very proud of his handiwork. He seemed to be enjoying the fight, musing in delight as the lava slowly rose, as if he made it to be a funny joke. He even gave a chuckle as Wolf's landmaster was pushed off its tiny platform by a stream of molten rock. As he fell into the magma below, Wolf let out a yell that sounded so betrayed it gave Jigglypuff the shivers._

"_And the winner is Captain Olimar!" Master Hand announced into the speaker._

_The captain was still standing on the same platform he started on, still looking absolutely terrified. His pikmin all clung to him, trembling. Luckily, the Norfair stage disappeared before Captain Olimar could faint._

_Master Hand turned to the speculating Smashers beside him as the crowd applauded. "Well?" He said excitedly. "What do you think of it? Isn't it great?"_

_No one spoke right away. Everywhere Jigglypuff looked, she saw faces that mirrored her shock and disbelief. A few smashers looked away. Marth slowly buried his face in his hands and Pikachu's ears twitched in short jerks._

"_It's very… realistic," Samus said slowly. She had a strange look on her face, a mixture of concern and admiration. "I could almost imagine myself being back on Planet Zebes."_

"_Thank you, thank you," Master Hand said, taking a bow. "The Norfair stage is one of the most dangerous stages, if not the most. It was due to Wolf and Olimar's bad luck that they got it as their first one."_

"_So you're saying the other stages are friendlier?" Mr. Game and Watch said hopefully._

_Master Hand nodded. "Yes, of course. The others don't involve death by lava."_

_The Smashers all looked much more relieved after that. They began congratulating Master Hand on a job well done and chatted excitedly amongst themselves about what stage they were going to get._

"_This is going to make battles a lot more unpredictable," Zelda warned._

_Fox nodded in agreement. "So different stages can give you either an advantage or disadvantage, depending on your abilities." He trembled slightly. "I hope I don't ever have to fight on Norfair. It seems like activating the landmaster on that stage is suicide."_

"_Wolf's gonna have a hard time showing his face outside his room after this," Falco cackled._

"_Alright, let's continue with the next battle," Master Hand declared. Jigglypuff tensed in excitement, wondering if it'd be her turn. _

_Master Hand returned to the microphone. "Now, for the next battle," he announced. "We have Snake versus… Jigglypuff!"_

_The tall man dressed in gray a few seats down from her stood up, smiling, and walked over to the portal that will launch him onto the floating stage. Jigglypuff did the same, heading over to another one. A pokeball was waiting for her and she grudgingly allowed herself to be absorbed into it. It was Master Hand's suggestion for the pokemon Smashers to enter the stage by jumping out of a pokeball. Even though they were all trainerless pokemon, Lucario, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff didn't mind going along with it._

_Master Hand continued talking. "And the stage they will be fighting on is… Battlefield!"_

_Jigglypuff didn't get to see the stage take form. She felt the pokeball being shot into the air. It broke open when it landed on the stage and she jumped out with a determined cry of "Jiggly!"_

_Snake teleported onto the stage in a crouch. As he stood, electricity crackled around him._

_The audience cheered as Master Hand yelled, "Battle start!"_

_Jigglypuff looked around at their stage. To her relief, it seemed quite simple. There were three floating platforms that they could jump onto and some trees in the background. And best of all, no lava. Good._

_As she was admiring the scenery around her, Snake made his move. He sprinted towards her and threw a punch. Jigglypuff's focus quickly snapped back when she saw the fist coming towards her. She rolled backwards just in time. It was a good thing her body was spherical shaped for she could roll faster than she could run. _

_As Snake tried to kick her, Jigglypuff ducked under his leg and rolled behind him. She quickly commenced singing, drawing him into her lullaby._

_No one could resist her song. As Jigglypuff watched, Snake's eyes began to close. When he fell to his knees, she stopped singing to body slam him. Everyone always said Jigglypuff seemed like a soft squishy pillow but truth was, she could harden her body at will. She winced for the man as he was knocked back by a force as hard as rock._

_Snake's damage on the screen increased but he was far from finished. He jumped back a few steps before pulling out a grenade and launching it at her. Jigglypuff leaped into the air to escape the explosion but didn't get away completely unharmed._

"_Better look out, Puffball."_

_When she looked back up, Snake had pulled out a rocket launcher and was firing a missile towards her. Jigglypuff cried out in surprise and rolled to dodge. She knew Snake could control the direction of the missile which was extremely annoying but luckily, it didn't travel very fast._

_She stuck her tongue out at him. "You can't hit me with something that slow!" she called cheekily._

_That was when the smash ball appeared. Jigglypuff went straight for it but Snake used this distraction as a chance to attack her. After she managed to land two hits on the item, Snake kicked her out of the way and took it for himself._

_Jigglypuff groaned in frustration and dread. She only saw Snake's final smash once and knew it was annoying to dodge. She tried to knock the smash ball back out of him but Snake activated it almost immediately. He crouched and took out his walkie talkie, calling in the chopper._

_The crowd cheered as a helicopter appeared above them and Snake grabbed onto the hanging ladder. Jigglypuff could hear the Smashers' yells, too, as they expected the match to be over. _

_Jigglypuff braced herself for the grenades. Twelve shots. That was all she had to dodge. Not that bad, right?_

"_Come on, Jigglypuff, you can do this," she thought, determined to win._

_Jigglypuff could hear the shots being fired. She quickly escaped into the air as she saw them closing in on her. The first four missed her but the fifth grenade grazed her, knocking her backwards._

"_Oh, no!" Jigglypuff watched in horror at the next incoming grenade, unable to dodge in time. It exploded at her feet and blasted her into the air. "Ow, that hurt!" she cried as she tried to regain her balance. Luckily, Snake had to reload before firing the next round, which gave her time to get back onto her feet._

_Snake was smirking at her. "You ready for this, Pinky?" he asked, aiming again._

_Jigglypuff sucked in her cheeks. "Bring it, you dummy!" She still had quite a bit of health left. She might be able to survive his attack._

_As Snake began firing again, Jigglypuff used the same tactic as before, flying as high as she could into the air. She wasn't the fastest of the Smashers on the ground but she could float very high, which is a great asset in battle. She could see Snake frowning in frustration as his grenades missed her by inches each time._

_After what seemed like forever, Snake's final smash finally ran out and he was brought back to the stage. The crowd by this point seemed to be going crazy. Jigglypuff had survived his strongest attack and the match was still going strong. However, the pokemon knew she couldn't afford to be dragged into close combat. Her damage was quite a lot higher than her opponent's and getting too close could result in her flying out of the arena. _

_For the next while, Jigglypuff concentrated on dodging and running. She used her sing attack whenever Snake tried to get close and tried to catch him in her rollout move from far away. This way, the fight dragged on for quite a while. _

_That was when the second smash ball appeared. Jigglypuff sucked in her breath. If she allowed Snake to get it a second time, the first grenade that hits will KO her because her damage was so high. Snake knew this too. He aimed a kick at the ball and it cracked._

"_One!" the crowd yelled._

_Jigglypuff jumped and punched it. _

"_Two!" The Smashers were yelling too._

_By this time, both Jigglypuff and Snake were too focused on the smash ball to attack each other. It seemed to be taunting them, floating just out of reach. Just then, to Snake's dismay, the Smash ball veered off high into the air. Jigglypuff immediately floated after it, approaching it in seconds. She looked back and smiled smugly at Snake before breaking it with a jab._

"_Three!" The crowd cheered as Jigglypuff was enveloped in its power. Obtaining the smash ball felt incredible. It immediately enhanced her sense and caused her fatigue to disappear. Instead of trying to attack, Snake was crouched in a defensive position. The worry on his face was making her grin._

_Jigglypuff jumped to the centre of the stage and unleashed her final smash. Snake grew smaller and smaller and her body taller and wider, pushing everything away from her. Snake's eyes widened in panic when he realized something. The battlefield stage was significantly smaller than the old sky stadium stage. Because of this, Jigglypuff's puff up was covering the entire platform._

_Snake tried to escape into the air by grabbing onto his Cypher camera but Jigglypuff was too big and he had no place to land._

_As she stopped growing, Jigglypuff felt her final smash coming to an end._

"_Jigglooo!" she cried as a wave of unleashed energy pushed everything away from her._

"_Wah!" with a startled cry, Snake was forced away from the edge, too far to recover. As Jigglypuff deflated back to her normal size, the mercenary fell to his defeat. _

_The crowd applauded loudly at the upset victory as Jigglypuff waved and danced for them. She waited for Snake to reappear on the portal, which he did after a few seconds. He jumped off and walked over to her, extending his hand for a shake._

"_Not bad," Snake admitted. "Although you ran into a bit of luck with this new stage."_

_Jigglypuff smiled as she shook his hand. "Yup, thanks!" She decided she liked this battlefield arena. It was the perfect size for her final smash._

* * *

"Hey Red. How's your shoulder?" Jigglypuff walked into the room carrying a new roll of bandages.

Red turned around and saw her. "Oh it's you, Jigglypuff. I'm fine," he insisted. "Samus said we're ready to go into the subspace today. Hopefully, King Dedede and Meta Knight can join us."

Jigglypuff nodded. Most of the Smashers were not in top shape due to the battle almost two days ago but they couldn't afford to wait any longer for everyone to rest up. "Red, if your shoulder's really bothering you, you don't have to come," she said.

Red frowned at this proposal. "I'm not going to be kept from this rescue mission because of some stupid injury," he said.

"I'm just saying, you shouldn't hide anything from us," Jigglypuff warned. "Even if you mean good, if you can't keep up, you'll be a burden to the rest of the team."

Red growled in frustration and Jigglypuff softened in sympathy. She knew how terrible it could be to feel helpless. She jumped next to him.

"We should change your bandages," she suggested.

"Oh... Alright."

As Red was sitting down, they suddenly heard a loud crash coming from upstairs as someone threw a door open. A Smasher was running down the stairs, followed by someone else.

"_Where is he_?" Meta Knight's furious yell was followed by a frantic "Calm down!" from Yoshi.

"You just woke up, Meta Knight!" the dinosaur cried, hurrying after the star warrior. "You shouldn't move around too much yet!"

Jigglypuff and Red exchanged a glance before they both ran out the room the check the commotion. Meta Knight was storming down the great hall, leaving a trail of bandages in his wake. He probably got out of his bed in a hurry for he wasn't wearing his shoulder armor and was still in the midst of trying to pin on his cape. His yellow eyes glared into the rooms he passed, flashing dangerously behind his mask.

"I said _where is he?_" Meta Knight spat. "I'm going to kill him!"

Jigglypuff ran up to the furious swordsman. "Meta Knight, what's wrong?" she asked.

Meta Knight ignored her and instead flew down the hall. Yoshi, who was following behind, sighed.

"I think he's mad," the dinosaur said.

Jigglypuff blinked. "No, really?" she replied sarcastically. "Who's he looking for anyways?"

"Kirby," Yoshi responded.

The sound of someone approaching came from the stairs and big figure of King Dedede was revealed. The penguin was covered in bandages but was well enough to walk by himself. He was carrying his hammer on his shoulder and waved at them as he neared.

"Yoshi, I forgot to thank you for retrieving my hammer," King Dedede said, giving Yoshi a jolly pat on the back. "I dropped it somewhere in town last night and thought I'd never see it again!"

"It was no big deal, King Dedede," Yoshi replied. "I also found Meta Knight's sword in the field but I didn't give it back to him yet, for when he woke up, he immediately took off."

"What's wrong with him?" Red asked.

King Dedede sighed. "Leave him to me."

The group found Meta Knight just before he was about to head outside. At King Dedede's command, Jigglypuff and Yoshi tackled him and pinned the furiously struggling warrior to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?" Meta Knight demanded. "Unhand me immediately! I have a kirby to beat up!"

"Why are you so mad at him?" King Dedede asked, frowning. "He gave himself up so we could escape."

Meta Knight growled. "Did you forget what he did to me?"

"Hmm…" the king tapped his chin. "He… kicked you? Don't tell me you're upset over that."

"I was wide awake, fully ready to fight," Meta Knight spat, still trying to push Yoshi and Jigglypuff off him. "Until that… _fool…_ knocked me unconscious!"

"He did that to save you," King Dedede insisted.

"Save me?" Meta Knight stopped struggling in disbelief. "Just how was that, in any way, a plan of escape? I could've continued to fight but he prevented that splendidly by _punting me in the face._"

As she listened to the argument progress, Jigglypuff almost groaned in exasperation. It sounded just like Kirby to do something like that. No wonder Meta Knight was so mad.

King Dedede, however, grew serious. "Meta Knight, listen to yourself," he said, his fist tightening around his hammer. "Sure, you might've been awake when Kirby knocked you out, but you couldn't have gone on for much longer anyway. Kirby probably just stole a few seconds of consciousness from you. And no matter how you look at it, you were saved by him. Now stop being stupid. You can settle this after you're both safe."

Meta Knight growled, shaking Yoshi and Jigglypuff roughly off. Jigglypuff thought he was going to attack King Dedede when the swordsman suddenly threw his cape over himself and disappeared.

King Dedede sighed before turning around to head back. "Such a troublesome guy," he muttered.

"What should we do with him?" Yoshi asked worriedly.

"Oh, don't worry," King Dedede called behind his back. "Meta will come to his senses. He's really angrier with himself than Kirby. Now… I wonder if there's anything to eat in the fridge…"

King Dedede lumbered off to the kitchen, leaving the rest of the Smashers staring at each other. That was when Samus and Peach appeared, both of them looking rather confused.

"We heard some loud noises," Peach said. "What's going on?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Red responded. "Meta Knight and King Dedede woke up though. That's good news."

Samus nodded. "It is," she said before her tone turned urgent. "Everyone, could you please gather all the Smashers in the dining room? It's about time we get going."

"Ok!" Yoshi cried enthusiastically.

They quickly scattered across the mansion, spreading the message to all they could find. Jigglypuff managed to find the last two, Toon Link and Sonic, and dragged them over to the dining room. The others were waited patiently for them. Whatever chairs the Smashers managed to salvage were all placed in the dining room. Even with that, there weren't enough spots for everyone and some had to stand or sit on the floor. Jigglypuff took a seat beside Pikachu and settled down comfortably for the briefing.

Snake was already speaking. "Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong went on one last patrol to get rid of nearby primids. We're going to head out as soon as they return. We do not have enough adequate information on the enemy to come up with a plan that will guarantee success," he said solemnly. "But we do have the element of surprise on our side."

Samus continued. "Before allowing all thirty or so of us to head into the subspace at the same time, we need one person to scout and conduct a little reconnaissance so the others will know which way to head immediately."

"Who's going to do that?" Luigi asked. "We're going to need someone fast. I could-"

"No, I will," Samus said. "I'm going to head out right after this meeting."

Pikachu stood up. "Samus, I think it's better if I went. I'm fast and if I run into any primids, I can take them out quickly."

"If you need a spy, I am perfect for the job." Zelda locked eyes with Samus, her voice brimming with confidence. She seemed to have gotten past the huge disappointment she received yesterday and was focused entirely on the mission.

Samus hesitated, unsure on how to answer all the volunteers.

Snake cleared his throat. "It's not a bad idea to have more than one person going in there, Samus. I have more than enough walkie talkies to spare."

In the end, they decided on four people who will survey the subspace ahead of time. Samus, Snake, Zelda, and Pikachu will head out first. Each of them will be equipped with a camera that will broadcast what they see directly onto Master Hand's computer, which will be saved in case needed for future reference.

The main force was to attack after the first four gave them the signal. The role of the main force was to attack quickly. Stealth wasn't as important, for as long as they were fast, they should be able to break into the enemy headquarters by surprise. The heavy hitters were placed in the front of the group. Ike, Captain Falcon, Mr. Game and Watch, Bowser, and Wario were to break through the enemy lines and distract whoever would show up, allowing others to infiltrate deeper and find the Smashers.

"I know this plan is risky," Snake said. "And many things could go wrong. First of all, we don't even know where their headquarters are..."

"But what other choice do we have?" Pit asked, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't worry 'bout it, Snakey. We get it."

"It's good to take precautions," Marth said smiling. "But don't underestimate us. We'll have the others back in no time."

Jigglypuff felt her spirit lift as she listened to the meeting continue. Of course. She had forgotten. The more dangerous their situation, the brighter the Smashers shined in battle. That was the one thing they all shared despite their differences.

"Then we'll get going," Samus concluded.

Every nodded, murmuring in agreement. Peach, Luigi, Wolf, Falco, and R.O.B. went to the control room to help Samus and the other spies attach their cameras to the computer. Even the others who weren't good with technology got ready in their own way.

"Hey, Marth, come spar with me for a bit," Ike said, raising Ragnell onto his shoulders.

Marth nodded. "You coming, Meta Knight?" he asked, turning to the figure sitting in the corner.

Meta Knight had sat through the meeting in silence but he seemed to have gotten over his anger. He nodded and gave his sword Galaxia a few good swings, its golden blade glistened in the light.

"Let's go," Meta Knight said, gliding over to them.

Jigglypuff was about to head outside to see if DK and Diddy had returned yet when she was stopped by someone calling her name.

"Jigglypuff, does this look weird?" Jigglypuff turned around to see Pikachu coming up to her. He had a camera strapped to his head.

She giggled. "Yes it does."

"Thanks," Pikachu huffed.

"Are you guys heading out now?"

The electric pokemon nodded. "It's almost evening," he said. "In a few minutes, DK and Diddy will come back and that's when we'll move out." Pikachu looked as excited as Jigglypuff felt.

Pikachu shook his head. "I'm nervous," he admitted.

Jigglypuff nodded. Her heart was thumping anxiously too. "Hey, remember the first tournament?" she asked suddenly.

Pikachu nodded. "Of course. My first battle had been against Link. I lost."

"I lost too," Jigglypuff laughed. "Meta Knight was strong."

"But I ended up winning the ninth tournament anyways," Pikachu bragged. Jigglypuff punched him on the arm.

Pikachu scratched his ears. "Why'd you bring up the tournaments?"

"What I'm trying to say is, even though they had been so long ago, I still remember the feeling I got at the start of each one," Jigglypuff said. She looked around the dining room they were standing in. "The queasy feeling I would get in my stomach kept me on my toes for days. I couldn't stand the anticipation. Just like right now. It's killing me."

"You get excited too easily," Pikachu mused.

They were suddenly interrupted when Peach walked into the room. She was followed by a blond ninja whom Jigglypuff recognized as Zelda's other form.

"Should we still wait for DK and Diddy to get back?" Peach was asking. "They're sure taking their time."

"Do no fret, we have the whole night ahead of us," Sheik responded. "A few Smashers already went out to find them. They should be back any minute."

That was when they heard a loud crash as the door flung open and Luigi bursted into the room. Just from the look on his face, Jigglypuff realized that something was wrong. Luigi was sweating as if he had run to the mansion. He glanced around wildly and met their gaze.

"You guys!" Luigi cried. "We've been attacked!"

* * *

_I'll try to get the next chapter up some time this month! Thank you for reading!:D_


	14. Chapter 13

_Thank you for the reviews! I realized that it's been just over a year since I started writing this story and it's no where near finished. xD Sincere gratitude to everyone who's been following me for so long!_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"_No!" _

_As Pit watched, Marth backed up quickly, lifting his sword to defend himself from his opponent. The Altean Prince was fighting Kirby on the moving stage of Delfino Plaza and they were currently on the beach._

_Kirby had just broken the smash ball and was glaring threateningly at Marth. _

"_That's right!" the Star Warrior yelled, walking close to him, and waving his short arms around as an attempt to look threatening. "You better be scared!"_

_Marth hesitated, not knowing what to do. He seemed to want to dash up to Kirby and knock the smash ball out of him but was reluctant because he didn't know what Kirby's final smash was._

"_You better not come near me!" Kirby cried, still jumping around. The platform beneath them was beginning to move, floating up to the sky to bring them to a different place._

"_Kirby, I know your tactic," Marth said. "You're not actually planning to use the smash ball, but instead want to scare me so I'll trip up and give you an opening to attack. That's what you did to all of your opponents before."_

"_Ooo, think you're so smart?" Kirby cried. Pit couldn't help but think how cute the Popstar citizen was, jumping around and trying to act scary. Ike, who was watching beside Pit, groaned worriedly and scratched his neck._

"_C'mon, Marth!" Ike muttered. He was sitting beside Pit and was watching the match apprehensively. "You better win!"_

"_But Kirby has the smash ball," Pit pointed out._

"_Well, if you really think that way, why don't you come closer, huh?" Kirby continued to taunt. "This is the finals so I have nothing to lose by using it here!"_

_Pit blinked. Kirby did have a point. The little pink creature was the only one of them that had yet to reveal his final smash. He no longer needed to hide it here, now that he was so close to winning._

_Marth, at this moment, seemed to be getting a headache. He groaned and backed away. _

"_Can't you just use it already?" Marth pleaded. "I swear, I'm going to jump off this stage if you keep this up."_

"_Then prepare to feel the wrath of Cook Kirbyyyy!" Kirby raised his hand into the air and he was suddenly wearing a chef's hat and was holding a pot and a spatula. He knocked them together over his head and a giant cauldron appeared in front of him. Yelling in surprise, all of the Smashers leaned forward to watch. _

_Poor Marth stood his ground and raised Falcion in a defensive position but it didn't seem to work for he was dragged into the pot as if he had no control._

"_Marth!" Ike stared as Kirby brought out a spoon and began stirring the pot. Pit knew it was all special effect and that Marth wasn't really being cooked but he still cringed. The prince was spat back out and sent flying into the sky with a strangled cry. The win was obvious now._

_Pit jumped from his seat and cheered, completely fired up. The crowds were just as loud as the smashers, screaming and cheering for their second tournament winner on as he did backflips for them and danced adorably. Kirby shook hands with Marth who seemed to be taking his defeat quite well. He even laughed and said, "well played." Kirby in response jumped onto his shoulders and asked to be carried off stage._

_Before he ran up to congratulate the two fighters, Pit turned to the mercenary sitting beside him and smirked, stretching out his hand._

"_Pay up, I won the bet."_

* * *

Pit's hands gripped his bow worriedly as he walked down the main hallway. They were going to head out in less than a few hours and he had to make sure to keep his cool. It wasn't going well so far, because he was so jittery he had to keep pacing back and forth.

"Maybe I should force Red to train with me," he thought. But then again, the trainer was injured and maybe it was best to not ask him.

Pit saw the door to the room ahead open and Samus walked out. He waved. "Hey, Samus! You guys heading out?"

Samus saw him and smiled but he didn't miss the worry in her eyes. "Yes, right after Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong gets back," she replied.

"Where are those two, anyways?" Pit asked, frowning.

"I don't know…" Samus' brow was furrowed too, as she stared at the ground.

Pit took a breath and looked to the front door. "Well, I'm gonna go out and bring them back," he said, walking off.

"Uh…" Samus sounded hesitant.

He brushed her off. "Oh, no need to worry," he said loudly, breaking into a run. "Those two probably got lost 'cause they found a banana tree or something." Samus was a nice person but she worried too much in Pit's opinion.

Nonetheless, when he ran into Sonic, Captain Falcon, and Luigi, Pit asked them to come with him.

"We'll find them faster if there're more of us," Pit said as they walked out the front gate.

"Why can't you just fly around town?" Sonic grumbled. "You'll find them in an instant."

"I can't fly without borrowing Palutena's power," Pit grumbled back. "It takes a lot of effort to call down her blessing and it lasts a few minutes at most."

Sonic sighed. "Well, I'm going ahead," he said. "Step it up, you guys!" The hedgehog shot off towards the hill, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

"Hoo-yah! I'm not going to wait around either!" Captain Falcon yelled, also breaking into a full sprint.

Luigi coughed and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "Geez, they're so annoying," he muttered. "But I do agree, let's run."

Pit and Luigi took off into town, careful to scan for primids. They didn't run into any however, and Pit wasn't sure whether to be worried or not. He caught Luigi giving the subspace in the distance frequent glances as they walked down a sidewalk, calling softly for DK and Diddy.

"Mario's alright," Pit told him. "He's one of the strongest people I know. Nothing's going to happen to him." Pit meant what he said. Ever since they had first met, Pit could tell that Mario was a force to be reckoned with. The plumber was one of the most confident, charismatic, and brave Smashers out of all of them.

"I… I hope so," Luigi said quietly. "I've been trying to hide my worry in front of Princess Peach but truth is… I know Brother can't handle everything," he admitted helplessly. "I was there when Duon took him away… I watched as it happened."

"Hey, hey." Pit smacked the green clothed man on the shoulder, hoping it was a comforting gesture. "Don't go blaming yourself like Ness and Zelda are. We don't need more people getting depressed," he said grimly. The princess and the psychic boy have both changed from what Pit remembered. Zelda was quieter now, and Ness was more serious, more grown up. Falco, despite the arrogant contempt evident whenever he opened his mouth, seemed more nervous around the others and Meta Knight, from what Pit heard, wouldn't talk to anyone other than Ike and Marth.

"I… ok," Luigi said quickly. "I won't."

"Blaming yourself doesn't help anyone," Pit said. "You have to focus on doing all that you can to bring Mario back."

Luigi blinked and looked away. Pit could still see the worry on his face but the shorter man nodded. "You're right, Pit."

Pit grinned. "I'm always right."

That was when they spotted Sonic running towards them from quite a few blocks down. The blue hedgehog skidded to a stop in front of them, his face a mixture of worry and alarm.

"You guys better follow me. And hurry," Sonic said, not looking them in the eyes.

Captain Falcon was already at the scene when the three of them showed up. The racer was kneeling beside Donkey Kong and looked up as they approached.

"We found them like this," Captain Falcon reported, looking dead serious for once.

Pit took one look down at the two Smashers at his feet and suddenly found it hard to breath. Diddy Kong was still conscious, but just barely. Pit wondered if he knew they were there. The small monkey's arm was bent at an awkward angle and his tail was twitching ever so slightly. Donkey Kong was in even worse shape. The massive ape was laying spread eagled on his back with blood pouring out from a cut on his head, not moving at all.

"We need to get them back," Captain Falcon said in a low voice.

"I-I'm going to get some of the others," Luigi said, his voice choking. He turned and headed back to the mansion.

"Me, too," Captain Falcon said. "Stay here with them as I bring some stretchers."

Sonic nodded and the captain dashed off.

"Who did this?" Pit whispered hoarsely.

"If only I knew," Sonic muttered. He knelt down next to Diddy Kong and tried whispering to get the wounded Smasher's attention.

Pit scanned around for enemies but there was no one around. He highly doubted this was the fault of primids. There was just no way that those stupid robots could injure two Smashers so fatally, unless they were ambushed by hundreds. However, Pit couldn't even see one primid, much less an army.

He didn't know long they waited until he heard the footsteps of other Smashers approaching. Jigglypuff, Pikachu, Peach and Sheik, who was Zelda's disguised form, came back with Luigi. They all had a scared look in their eyes, like animals caught by surprise. Peach was clutching her golf club and Sheik had out throwing needles.

"What happened?" Jigglypuff cried as they neared.

"We found them like this," Sonic said darkly, standing up to talk to them.

Captain Falcon came back not a minute later with Lucario, Ness, Nana, Popo, and Toon Link.

"Met up with the kids out in the garden," Captain Falcon muttered, sounding a bit guilty for bringing the youngest Smashers to the scene. "Told them to not follow me."

Toon Link stared at him defiantly. "Our friend's hurt," he said. Nana and Popo was already at Diddy Kong. Nana looked so worried Pit was afraid she might cry as Popo examined Diddy's wounds.

Peach had a hand over her mouth. "Who… who did this?" she whispered shakily.

"No primid, that's for sure," Pit said grimly. "They were probably ambushed by Galleom or another one of the stronger enemies."

"No, it's not Galleom,"Luigi said, kneeling down next to Donkey Kong. "These wounds… they're not from him."

"There was magic in use," Sheik said, gently touching Donkey Kong's broken arm.

Pit looked Donkey Kong over more closely. He could see the heavy burns he had received on his arms and chest. Bits of his fur were singed, not because of fire but because of something else… electricity?

Sparks flew from Pikachu's cheeks. "L-lightning! I'm sure of it!" the pokemon cried.

"I can see a lingering aura on their bodies." The aura pokemon looked over Donkey Kong carefully and his eyes suddenly widened in surprise. He blinked, standing still in shock.

"Lucario? What is it?" Pit asked.

"Um… nothing." Lucario's reply was short but Pit didn't miss the quick glance he gave to Ness. The angel frowned as something clicked in his head. Wait a minute… fire and lightning and magic?

Ness didn't seem to have caught on to it all but a few others did. Peach's expression was one of disbelief and Sheik's was that of shock. Pit sucked in a breath and almost spoke before a wave of guilt washed over him. Ness didn't do this. It wouldn't make any sense.

Diddy Kong suddenly murmured something and Sonic crouched to hear him.

"Diddy Kong, can you hear me?" Sonic asked softly.

"…ere," Diddy muttered.

"What was that?"

"He's still… here…"

Sonic reeled back to warn them just in time. Pit spotted something hurtling towards them out of the corner of his eye. He jumped in front of DK and Diddy to block the attack but it landed to their left, exploding as it contacted the ground.

Sonic and Pikachu also leaped in front of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, ready to defend. The others quickly surrounded them, scanning for the enemy.

Someone had attacked them with an explosion of some sort. It carved a crater on the ground, close to where Diddy Kong was. The smoke and dust sent up obscured their vision and Pit could hear the others coughing.

A figure jumped down out of nowhere, merely a few paces from where the Smashers stood, making them tense up. When he lifted his head and began walking towards them, Pit reeled back in shock.

It was Lucas.

Pit's heart thumped painfully. Could it be? One of the kidnapped Smashers had returned to them! For a second, he was so thrilled he couldn't control his smile. The others were overjoyed too, Pit could tell from the way their eyes lifted and their weapons dropped. But when Ness ran towards Lucas, for some unexplainable reason, a chill suddenly ran down his spine.

Something felt off.

Pit couldn't immediately put a finger on it. In his confusion, he glanced over to the still smoking crater on the ground and suddenly, _finally_, realized that the attack that they have just been ambushed with was a PK fire.

"_Ness_!" His shrill scream surprised himself.

Pit instantly dropped his bow and ran forward, extending his arms. He just managed to catch Ness as he collided into him and they both went tumbling into the hard ground. Pit rolled onto his back and wrapped his arms protectively around the boy to shield him.

Ness tried to take in air in uneven gasps. He shuddered violently in Pit's arms, and his eyes widened when he realized what had just happened. The others jolted in shock at the suddenness of it the attack. They all stood still, too confused to move. Pit couldn't blame them. He wasn't even sure how he managed to react in time.

Now that he got a closer look, he saw a faint hue of purple mist surrounding Lucas, trailing off his skin. They boy's eerie golden eyes stared straight on, unblinking and cold as stone.

Lucas ran forward towards Pit but Sonic crashed into him from the side and they both tumbled away. The hedgehog stood protectively between them, crouching for another attack as Lucas got back up.

Sonic was yelling to Pit without looking back and it took him a moment to figure out what he was saying.

"Is Ness alright?"

Pit blinked the shock out of his mind. "I don't- no he's not," he stammered, hugging the boy tightly. Lucas' attack had hit Ness square in the chest. Pit couldn't believe it; he had never witnessed a Smasher attack another Smasher like this, not even those like Mario and Bowser who were sworn enemies. It had been an attack meant to kill.

Peach was suddenly beside him.

"I'm taking Ness back to the mansion," Peach said, lifting the dying boy into her arms. The control in her voice caught Pit by surprise and he nodded dumbly.

"Look out!" Sonic suddenly cried.

Pit turned in time to see that Lucas had gotten past Sonic and was headed their way. Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Sheik intercepted this time, and blocked him.

"He's only aiming for Ness!" Pit realized that Pikachu was right.

"Peach, go!" Lucario covered her as she turned and ran without another question. She left their sight quickly, disappearing behind a building.

Meanwhile, Toon Link had drawn his sword and was running towards his friend.

"Lucas, what's gotten into you?" he cried, swinging his sword. He sounded furious. "You could've _killed_ Ness!"

Lucas stepped back, dodging Toon Link's sword. He threw a powerful force of psychic power towards him and Toon Link was thrown backwards but he managed to flip onto his feet as he landed.

"Toon Link!" Nana and Popo ran to their friend, who clutched his sides and fell to his knees. They didn't see the PK fire coming until it hit Popo's arm and exploded, making him cry out in pain.

"You kids retreat!" Captain Falcon yelled. "Hurry up and leave!"

Trembling, Nana helped Popo to his feet and half dragged, half carried him away but Toon Link didn't seemed like he wanted to leave. He raised his sword back up and walked back towards Lucas, only to be stopped when Captain Falcon grabbed him and lifted him into the air.

"Lucas!" Toon Link yelled, struggling from Captain Falcon's hold. "What's wrong with you? What… what _happened_ to you?"

"Toon Link, stop it!" Captain Falcon ordered.

"They did something to him," Toon Link insisted, angry tears brimming his eyes. "Why did this…"

Lucas, at the moment, was having a match with Luigi. The plumber wasn't attacking, and instead used his fireballs to deflect the boy's PSI powers. Hesitance kept flickering across the Luigi's face. The PSI user, however, wasn't going the least bit easy on him.

"This is too dangerous!" Pit thought, his heart hammering at his throat. He had to stop the battle somehow. There was no way any of them could hurt Lucas, even though the boy seemed to have become their enemy.

A punch sent Luigi to the ground and Sonic jumped in immediately after that. The blue hedgehog wasn't as kind as Luigi. He attacked Lucas, pushing him back with his lightning fast kicks until the boy retreated to a distance and suddenly stopped moving.

The other Smashers all hesitated to attack, wondering what he was up to. Lucas was staring at them, his face still void of emotions. Their eyes made contact for a second and Pit couldn't help feeling intimidated.

Pikachu jolted beside Pit. The pokemon sensed something and was staring at into the distance. Sure enough, something was approaching.

Pit's instincts told him to run but there was no way he could leave Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong lying on the ground. Pikachu growled, lighting cackling around him. Lucario got ready to fire an aura sphere.

"How's it goin' all?"

Porky's voice could be heard loud and clear even though he was still a block from them. His gigantic spider robot suit hummed with energy as it neared. Pit unintentionally took a step back. He remembered fighting against Porky before. He was just a boy but his machine was powerful and dangerous.

"Haha! You should see the look on your pathetic faces!" Porky was grinning ear to ear as he stared down at them in glee. He didn't seem posed to attack, more to gloat.

Lucas, whom Pit remembered to be Porky's enemy, didn't seem the bit fazed when Porky walked up behind him. He still wasn't taking his eyes off them.

Pit stepped forward. "What happened to Lucas?" he yelled, glaring at Porky.

The boy merely laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know!" he taunted, staring down at them. "He's on our side now! Couldn't you tell from the way he tried to kill you?" Smirking, Porky glanced at Toon Link who was supporting his ribs, and Nana who was helping Popo stand.

"_What did you do to him_?" Pit demanded. He aimed and fired an arrow to Porky's head but to everyone's surprise, Lucas jumped between them and absorbed it with a wave of his hand.

"Lucas, why are you shielding him?" Pit demanded, stepping out to meet him. "Get out of my way!"

"He can't hear you," Porky said, smiling. "It's useless to try. Lucas serves Master Tabuu now. The only way to get him out of your way is to kill him."

"No…" Luigi whispered.

It couldn't be that Porky was telling the truth... Pit refused to believe him but his conviction wavered when he saw Lucas focused on them and gathered PSI powers into his hands, ready to attack.

"Consider this a warning," Porky said. "I was sent here to tell all of you to give up. Now that your fellow comrades have been infested by shadow bugs, their minds have been overtaken and they will fight you to their last breath. It's useless to struggle, for you will all eventually join them in Master Tabuu's army."

Pit felt the world sway before him. He quickly shook his head, not daring to believe what he heard.

"Wait a minute," said Captain Falcon. "You said 'fellow comrades?' So all the others that got taken have also become this?"

"No!" A strangled gasp came from Sheik. She stumbled and began to glow slightly, transforming back to her true form as she lost concentration. Zelda's legs wobbled and she would've fallen if Lucario didn't steady her.

Thankfully, Porky turned to leave. "Well, we have to head back for today," Porky said. Lucas turned to follow him. "Consider yourself lucky this time." He gave them one last look. "But you better start preparing yourselves for the next attack, huh?" The boy laughed with glee as his robot suit walked off.

Lucas didn't even glance back.


	15. Chapter 14

_YAAASS IM BACK. Hi everyone! I hope you're having a good summer! I recently got back from a cruise myself and I must say, the cheesecake was delicious._

_Anyways, enjoy! The flashback for this chapter is kind of random. xD_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Nana laughed and cheered even though she didn't last very long in the contest. _

_The Smashers had all gathered in the dining room in what started out as a normal dinner before one thing led to another and the meal ended up as yet another competition after Kirby's suggestion._

"_There's noooo way anyone can eat more than me," the Popstar citizen declared. This caused a few Smashers (mostly the guys, although Jigglypuff also narrowed her eyes) to take up the challenge._

"_Oh yeah?" Ike rolled up his sleeves until they were almost to his shoulders. "You're messing with the champ here. There's no one back in my world who can eat more than me."_

"_It's true." Marth nodded solemnly. _

_Nana eagerly began to pile food onto her plate after Popo looked at her and nodded. The plates of the participating Smashers slowly began to stack up beside them as they ate faster and faster when they realizing everyone else were competing. Nana had thrown away her fork after she saw Pikachu beside her down his fifth bowl of soup. She didn't know just how much she ate but after forming an impressive pile of empty dishes next to her, she was forced to stop after becoming convinced that swallowing another mouthful of would result in extreme unpleasantness._

_The maids who came in with second helpings of food stared in shock at the Smashers stuffing their faces. Mr. Game and Watch politely told them what was going on and they hurried back to the kitchen to tell the cooks._

_After a few minutes, Popo beside her groaned and pushed the spaghetti away from him. "Man, how do they do it?" he asked, glancing over at Toon Link and Ness who wasn't slowing down. Lucas looked back and shrugged weakly. He had also stopped some time ago, which made Nana relieved, for the blond's face was a pale shade of green._

"_Urp…" Luigi a few seats down from her suddenly stopped eating and clasped his mouth._

"_And… Luigi's down," R.O.B. beeped. The robot couldn't eat, but he seemed to find the whole thing amusing to watch. A couple of other Smashers who also didn't participate were watching the contest warily. Samus frowned in concern when Pit next to her groaned and did a faceplant into his food._

"_Pit's down… Ness' down…"_

_Red was laughing and cheering for Pikachu with Sonic edging Mario on beside them. After Pikachu's cheeks looked like it was about to explode from all the food he had crammed into his mouth, the mouse pokemon finally gave in and fell back into his chair with a defeated cry of "pika…" However, he quickly got back up and joined in Red's cheers for Jigglypuff who was the only pokemon left in the contest. Lucario watched them and sighed, shaking his head._

"_Pikachu's down… Toon Link's down… Snake's down…"_

_Nana was surprised that Snake actually decided to take part. She lost count of how many steaks the man finished before he grabbed a cup of water and chugged the whole thing down in one gulp and collapsed onto his seat. Snake groaned and let out a belch that made Peach grimace. Samus, who was sitting beside the princess, covered her mouth as if fighting the urge to laugh._

_The remaining participants were slowly decreasing. Link gagged and gasped for a cup of water which Zelda poured for him frantically as Ganondorf cackled from the other side of the table. Mario had been resting his head against the table for quite a while now with Peach fanning him with her hands and gently scolding him at the same time. Sonic was grinning like crazy and trying to get the plumber to get back up and keep going. Fox suddenly choked back a retch and stumbled out of his chair, making a beeline for the door. Falco uneasily watched his leader run out and even Wolf winced softly._

"_I… I can no longer… go on…" Captain Falcon stood up trembling and clutching his stomach. "It shames me to admit defeat but if I take another bite I will-" He suddenly fell over onto the ground and didn't get back up._

"_Captain Falcon's down…" R.O.B. announced._

"_Hey, Olimar's cheating!" Diddy Kong suddenly cried, pointing at the little captain. Nana looked over and gaped at the twenty plates stacked up beside him. _

_Olimar jolted and sat up quickly. "No- no, I…" No one had noticed it before but now that Diddy pointed it out, Nana spotted a mob of pikmins around Olimar's chair. Their stomachs were all bulging and one let out a burp. A blue pikmin was still chewing on an apple._

"_Olimar disqualified," R.O.B. said. _

_Bowser suddenly fell over onto the floor with a loud thud that Nana felt from across the room._

"_Bowser's down…"_

_Wario laughed at the koopa but his laughter sounded quite strained and it wasn't long before he choked on a piece of bread and gave up._

"_Wario's down…"_

_An even louder thump made the floor tremble as King Dedede leaned back and dropped out of his chair, sprawling onto the ground. _

"_Go, Kirby," King Dedede whispered before passing out. "Win this for us 'cause I doubt Meta will."_

_Meta Knight's eye twitched from under his mask. "Why would I even join in something this stupid anyways?" he muttered._

"_King Dedede's down."_

_Soon, there were only three remaining and none of them seemed to want to give up. Ike was tearing chicken meat from drumsticks like a savage, finishing one in a minute. Marth was cheering him on happily. He helped stock food onto Ike's plate so the mercenary could continue eating without pause. All the plates within Yoshi's tongue's reach were licked clean and the dinosaur had to jump onto the table to reach the food on the other side of the table. Red and Pit were helping Kirby out. They ran back and forth with food for the star warrior who inhaled everything into his mouth the second it came into reach._

_Nana cheered at first but she soon sat in a stunned silence as none of them stopped. How long could those three go on for anyway? _

_Nana wouldn't be surprised if a whole ten minutes passed after Ike began to slow down. He was making a funny looking face, something between a look of determination and a grimace. Marth patted his shoulder after he finished twenty plates of food and said, "Hey Ike, maybe you should, uh…"_

_What happened next, Nana would rather not describe. All the Smashers simultaneously made a face and looked away the moment Ike reached his limit. Meta Knight sighed and covered his eyes with one hand muttering something under his breath. _

_After Ike was out the game, Yoshi and Kirby almost seemed to speed up. Nana could understand how they feel. They had lasted this far, defeated this many, and had just one more opponent in front of them. It was just an eating contest but the determination in their eyes made Nana hold her breath._

"_C'mon, Yoshi!" Donkey Kong cried, pumping his fist._

"_Go, Kirby!" Mr. Game and Watch yelled._

_It was like watching a fighting match._

"_Who's going to win?" Popo asked._

"_I don't know," Nana answered truthfully. She could tell from the looks on both Smashers' faces that the match was nearing its end._

_Yoshi and Kirby both began to slow down around the same time. Yoshi was snatching food up with his tongue more slowly and Kirby began to hesitate after inhaling each plate._

_Then, they both stopped altogether. The rest of the Smashers stared in amazement as the two panted for breath._

"_You seem to be getting tired, Kirby," Yoshi remarked. The dinosaur's tail was twitching._

"_Oh ho ho, not at all," Kirby said, forcing himself to sound nonchalant. "You're looking a bit sick though, Yoshi. Maybe you should take a break." _

_The two of them glanced around the table littered with empty plates and saw a slice of watermelon sitting on a plate next to Jigglypuff. The pokemon realized what was happening and quickly pushed the fruit away from her as Kirby and Yoshi slowly dragged themselves across the table to the last piece of food._

"_It's mine!" Yoshi declared._

"_Never!" Kirby cried. With one last burst of strength and a defiant shout of "poyooo!" the star warrior reached out and took his prize. He stuffed it into his mouth as Yoshi whimpered and collapsed at his feet, defeated._

_Everyone stared in amazement at the little pink creature that devoured half of the mansion's supply of food. Kirby was standing proudly in the middle of the table, as if he just defeated an army by himself and Peach and Zelda began to applaud timidly. Others soon joined in. Shouts of praise and hoots of laughter rang out across the room as Kirby helped Yoshi up and patted his shoulder. Everyone, even the ones lying on the ground, celebrated as someone had been named brawl champion. _

_Nana sighed and shook her head, realizing what a stupid thing they just did. The maids, who had been running back and forth with food, looked exhausted standing by the door. One of them mentioned that there wasn't a speck of food left in the kitchen and that Master Hand was going to throw a fit when he hears about this._

"_What just happened?" Nana asked no one in particular._

_Popo stopped laughing and turned to her. "What do you mean?" he asked, still grinning gleefully._

_Nana shook her head and smiled. "I can't believe it! We just made ourselves sick to the point of throwing up, all because we were too stubborn to back down from a challenge."_

"_I know." Popo grinned. "But that was awesome right?"_

* * *

Nana can't really recall the trip back. All she could remember was the numbness that crept up her spine and forced her to shake her head a few times to regain the concentration she needed to walk and support Popo. No one broke the shocked silence. She did remember running into Falco and Olimar on the way back though. The two of them yelled frantically about how they met up with Peach.

"What's going on?" Falco asked repeatedly. The others avoided his eye contact. No one had the heart to answer him but eventually, after they entered the house, Luigi brought him aside and spoke to him in a hushed voice.

Nana remembered a bit about helping to move the injured to the infirmary. Captain Falcon called Bowser for help and they carried Donkey Kong back on a stretcher. Luigi and Pit took care of Diddy Kong.

All the other Smashers learned of the news when they returned to the mansion. Nana heard Pikachu relaying urgently to Mr. Game and Watch and R.O.B. and a few others but she didn't hear everything for she headed straight to the infirmary.

Nana didn't cry much. Back outside, she had been way too shocked to cry. But now, as she walked in the door, she felt tears trailing down her face.

"What am I doing?" Nana thought, quickly brushing her tears away. She had come here to help, not blubber.

The infirmary was a large room that contain twenty or so beds. It usually wasn't used back in the tournament days because Smashers hardly ever got hurt thanks to the technology of damage control. Occasionally, during training, if a Smasher sprained or broke something, the nurses would bring them here immediately. Nana was one of their frequent visitors because of all the past scuffles she got into with the boys and the nurses there had taught her some simple medical procedures so she could take care of herself.

"Peach, how's Ness?" Nana asked.

The princess was currently applying some balm onto Popo's arm. Her brother kept wincing as the cloth brushed across his burns. She sat down on the bed next to him.

"I… I don't know," Peach admitted. "I don't know much about treating people other than some simple stuff that Mario's taught me so… I can't help Ness… I'm sorry…" She looked so upset Nana regretted asking.

* * *

The incident with Lucas completely overthrew the plan they had come up with. The Smashers conducted another meeting that lasted deep into the night. All of them sat in the dining room and looked down grimly as Pit and Sonic tried to explain everything.

"What do you mean Lucas attacked you?" Nana couldn't blame Falco for not believing in them. She didn't want to believe it herself, even though she witnessed it with her own eyes. The Cornerian pilot was glaring at Pit, his eyes filled with anger and disbelief. "That probably wasn't even the real Lucas!" he yelled.

"No, it was," Lucario said quietly, his eyes not leaving the table. "His aura was tainted with something dark but it was definitely him."

Falco looked away, growling. "It was… only Lucas you saw?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sonic replied. "But I'm not gonna mince words, Falco. Fox is probably like that too now."

Nana wanted to hit the hedgehog for not being more sympathetic as she watched Falco's eyes slowly trail to the ground. The pilot looked like he still didn't believe them but his shoulders fell in the slightest when he couldn't find any words to argue with.

"What… what do we do now?" Bowser asked. Even he sounded worried.

R.O.B. beeped for attention. "If we knew more about what infected our comrades," the robot said. "Perhaps there is a way to return them to their normal state."

"Yeah," Ike agreed quickly. "I mean, there's so much magic in this world, there has to be something that can help us."

"There has to be some way," Zelda muttered. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"But we have to be careful," Luigi warned. "They really will try to kill us when they see us." That was also what worried Nana the most. She knew that no one here could possibly hurt their friends on purpose but a moment's weakness in battle could cost them their life, like how it almost happened with Ness.

Red nodded. "Alright! We should be prepared to stop them by force and keep them here so they can't go back to the enemy."

"I'm afraid you don't have time for that," a voice suddenly spoke from the door.

Hearing the voice, Nana whirled around to the door. Someone had suddenly appeared and was approaching them. Her chest tightened painfully when she saw who it was. The fog suddenly lifted from her eyes.

Cries of surprise came from the Smashers.

"Master Hand!"They all stood up and ran to him but, to everyone's surprise, Master Hand quickly backed away.

"Whoa, whoa, no. I'm not Master Hand, okay?" The hand suddenly started twitching violently, which made the Smashers back up in surprise. Everyone started talking at once and the room filled with chaos.

"Mister Crazy Hand!"Nana heard Samus muttered, beside her. Before she could ask who that was, the hand spoke loudly.

"Man, what happened to this place?" he said, floating towards them. "It's a dump. I thought I told you to take care of it."

Pikachu ignored his remark and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Came back to warn you of something you should know involving the enemy." Crazy Hand's voice carried a hint of grimness.

"W-wait a minute!" Pit cried. "Who are you? You're not… Master Hand?" The angel sounded so distressed and confused, and unlike his usual cheerful self.

Crazy Hand sighed. "So many of you here. Yaaay," he said monotonously. He gestured towards the pokemons. "Can one of you tell them who I am? I don't like repeating myself."

"Mister Crazy Hand is Master Hand's brother," Samus explained quickly. "He… um… comes and goes so we've never met him during the tournaments. He helped me reactivate the teleporters."

"I also hate all of you," Crazy Hand grumbled. "But since you're all here now, I need you to do something or else this whole world's gonna collapse."

"W-what?" Red's jaw dropped. "What do you mean?"

"Tabuu's idiots managed to remove the charms from my brother's gate," Crazy Hand stated. "I haven't checked up on them for some time but I was in the computer room just now and noticed the distress signal had been on for a while. Whoops."

"_What?"_ Marth leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor. All the Smashers had dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

Olimar still wasn't quite convinced. "Wait… how can we trust you? I don't even quite know who you are."

"That's not important right now," Crazy Hand snapped, twitching his fingers. "Besides, you don't have a choice but to believe in me. Now, listen. I need all of you to find the charms immediately and bring them back to the gate. You all know where the gate is and I can track down the charms with my magic."

"W-wait," Mr. Game and Watch interrupted. "We need to save our friends first. Five of them were kidnapped and brainwashed by Tabuu's henchmen."

"I told you, there's no time for that." Crazy Hand was losing his patience.

"We can't just leave them!" Lucario's eyes flashed dangerously.

Crazy Hand jerked up suddenly before relaxing. "I'm assuming none of you are familiar with shadow bugs," he said.

"Shadow bugs?" Snake asked. "The things that form primids?"

"Parasite-like creatures that are alive and at the same time not really alive," Crazy Hand explained. "They are born from subspace and live by fusing with other shadows bugs into primids. They can also be used to take over a weakened host by entering the mind through the body."

"S-so that's what happened to them," Luigi said trembling.

"Can they be cured?" King Dedede asked frantically.

Crazy Hand didn't speak for some time. "There's no known cure," he finally said. "And it is nearly impossible for the host to break free from the control."

"B-but it's not impossible," Peach stammered. "Right?"

"The chances are near zero," Crazy Hand said angrily. "There's no use in hoping for such a thing to happen when it clearly won't. Now, listen to me. You have to forget about them and retrieve the charms. That's much more important right now."

Toon Link stamped his foot. "We can't just-"

"All of you are letting your emotions overrule your mind right now." Crazy Hand's voice was dangerously soft. "Do you know what will happen if Tabuu managed to escape from behind that gate? He will envelope this entire Kingdom in subspace, just like what he did to half the town. This entire world will be brought down under his control. If you don't go for the charms, millions of people will die. Die for nothing, because you can't save your friends either!"

Nana didn't want to believe the crazy, twitching hand. She wanted to stand up and yell but no matter how angry she was, a part of her somehow knew he was right. He wasn't lying.

"Here's how you're going to retrieve the charms," Crazy Hand continued on, breaking the dead silence. "I've already found their location. All I need you to do is to split off into three groups and bring them back to the gate in the subspace. If will take too long if you all travel together and we can't afford to waste even a second. Who knows how long that gate will hold right now."

"But… where are they?" Nana asked worriedly.

"They must also be heavily guarded by primids," Popo muttered. "There's no way they're just left alone."

Crazy Hand suddenly jolted, his fingers stretching and curling. The Smashers close to him all took a step back in surprise but he only pointed at the air in front of him to form a picture with magic.

"If you keep heading north from here, you will eventually come across a vast mountain covered in snow," Crazy Hand said. Sure enough, the Smashers could see it on the map he conjured up. "A charm is being kept at the very top of the mountain. Be careful, for the way up is treacherous." Nana only had to give Popo a small nudge for him to understand what she was thinking. There was no mountain they couldn't climb!

Crazy Hand continued. "Next, if you head west from here, you will come across a lake," he said, summoning up a visual aid of the terrain. "It's huge; you won't be able to see its end from the other side. A charm is kept at the bottom of the lake and primids are guarding the waters."

Nana gulped. This one sounded hard to retrieve.

"And the last one… is underground. This one is tricky to get to," Crazy Hand muttered. "I mean, the computer shows its location underground but getting to it might take some time."

"What do you mean?" Samus asked.

"My brother's computer is indeed filled with the most advanced technology of Smash Kingdom, but even it cannot trace this world down to its every nook and cranny," Crazy Hand explained. "And the location of the third charm is in the underground ruins of the kingdom."

Bowser frowned. "I've never heard of these ruins before."

"Well, they're not really important," Crazy Hand replied. "A civilization used to live underground here but that was hundreds of years ago. The place they've built is now a deserted and wasted place. It's also dangerous so no one ever goes there."

"How is it dangerous?" Captain Falcon asked.

"Many explorers and excavators have gotten lost in its maze like design and died in those tunnels," Crazy Hand responded. "Many were also buried alive or got caught in old booby traps made by the past inhabitants. I'm not really worried about that though. Just try not to get lost."

"Thanks," Pikachu muttered under his breath.

"Well, that's the gist of it." Crazy Hand twitched as he waved his fingers to dissolve the images. "I've told you guys enough. Now you just have to go and bring them back. You better head out now, actually."

Jigglypuff shook her head. "Crazy Hand, please calm down for a second!" she cried, speaking everyone's mind. "We still need to figure out who should go for which charm and what to do about our kidnapped friends."

Crazy Hand sighed. "Alright, but hurry it up." Nana had to resist the urge to walk up to the glove and whack him with her hammer.

"We should split into eight teams," Luigi suggested. "Three to retrieve the charms and five to bring back the Smashers."

"There's no need to have separate team to search for the Smashers," Crazy Hand scoffed. "They'll come right to you because they want to kill you."

Luigi nodded slowly. "You're right, Mister Crazy Hand," he said modestly. "But how can we be prepared for them? We don't know when they'll show up and where."

Crazy Hand sighed. "Listen carefully 'cause it seems you all know nothing," he said, annoyed. "When someone gets taken over by shadow bugs, they lose the ability to feel emotions and pain. They don't sleep. They don't eat. The shadow bugs enhance their senses and provide them energy by overworking their minds. They run on this and hunt and kill for a couple of weeks until they eventually run out of energy and die."

That revelation was met with dead silence until the little captain spoke.

"That can't be…" Olimar sounded so devastated his pikmin crowded around him, mewling worriedly.

"Then we have to save them before their time is up!" Ike cried. He clenched Ragnell at his waist. "What are we waiting for? We have to act now!"

"Finding them will not be hard," Crazy Hand said. His voice had gotten gentler after he saw the looks on all their faces. Some of the Smashers who were close to the victims looked in a daze. Nana's heart was hammering in her throat and she wondered if Peach and Zelda could still hear the others around them. "The hard part is bringing them back."

"We'll come up with a way," Ike said fiercely. "We'll retrieve the charms and stop them at the same time! Listen," the swordsman whirled around the face his grieving friends. "The important part is to find those five. Once we do that, we can't allow them to leave. We must focus on that first!"

"If you're going to try to catch them, I think you should know this." Everyone turned to Crazy Hand who hesitated before continuing. "Shadow bugs are devious creatures. They only know who to attack based on what they know of their hosts."

"What… do you mean?" Red asked cautiously.

"It means that they will only attack people they recognize. For example, say I am a stranger to them, something they have no memories of. They will most likely leave me alone. But that won't be the case with all of you, because you all know each other."

Luigi blinked. "But…" the man in green frowned. "Some of them know some of us more than others… I mean, I know Mario hasn't seen most of the Smashers here for years but he's known Peach and me for almost his whole life."

"You're catching on," Crazy Hand said. "Yes, depending on how close you are to the shadow bug host, the more they will endeavour to kill you." He jolted and jerked his thumb towards where Toon Link, Nana, and Popo were standing."I returned quite a while ago but didn't want any of you to see me so I cloaked myself in magic. Nonetheless, I figured out what happened. A group of you met up with this Lucas, huh? I'm guessing he's a good friend to you three."

Toon Link nodded dumbly. Of course Nana had to agree. She couldn't believe it… the reason why Ness almost died during that encounter…

"Well, I suggest you be careful," Crazy Hand said. "You in the green, you broke a rib, didn't you? And the other boy, be thankful you didn't lose your arm to those burns."

Popo gulped and Toon Link looked down.

Crazy Hand turned to leave. "With all due respect, that boy in the infirmary shouldn't even be alive right now," he said. "You all seem like the type to do anything to save a friend but before you go charging off to your deaths, remember that they're _not_ your friends anymore. I don't know how long the gates will hold," he added as he walked out the door. "All of you better head out immediately."

* * *

Nana tried to get some sleep after the meeting ended. By that time, it must've been at least two in the morning and they were planning to head out when the sun came up. The older Smashers insisted, almost demanded for everyone to get some sleep so they won't be tired for tomorrow but truth was, no one wanted to.

Of course Nana was tired, but everyone was. She felt guilty for resting when she knew other Smashers like Samus and Snake would be up all night trying to plan the trip on Master Hand's computer and figure out the most efficient course of action.

She was just too worried to sleep. She was worried about Popo who had been seriously injured today. How can he even think of going with their group? He couldn't even move one of his arms right now, much less hold a weapon and fight. Popo had adamantly refused to stay behind, even though Nana had begged him to. In the end, though all the Smashers were reluctant, he was finally placed onto the mountain team.

Nana was also worried about Toon Link, whom she knew was also greatly injured, and not just physically. The incident with Lucas had scared Toon badly. All of them felt helpless at the situation but it must be the worst to Toon, who had lost not just Lucas, but also his brother, Link, to the enemy. He was also offered the choice to stay back at the mansion because of his injuries but he asked to be put on the mountain group instead.

And Ness. Nana was terrified for Ness. She wasn't even sure if he'll be okay. And a part of her, even though it was horrible to think so, didn't want him to wake up too soon. She didn't know what will happen if Ness remembered that Lucas almost killed him and she didn't want to be there to find out.

Again, tears were threatening to fall. Nana groaned softly and hugged her pillow. She can't start crying now. She might wake Popo up.

"Nana? You awake?" A whisper came from the other side of the room. Nana blinked the tears out of her eyes and watched Popo sit up in the dark.

"Yeah, I'm awake," she whispered back.

"Oh… well, try to get some sleep. I'm just gonna check up on Ness and Toon." Popo slipped out of bed and walked towards the door.

"I'm coming with you." Nana quickly pulled off her covers and scrambled after her brother. She knew she was too old for something like being scared of the dark but she hurried after Popo all the same.

They walked quietly down the hall, careful not to wake anyone. Toon Link's room was only three down from theirs and when they reached it, Popo tapped quietly on the door. They heard movement almost immediately inside as Toon walked over and opened the door.

"Popo, Nana, why are you guys still up?" Toon Link asked. He was dressed in his undershirt and pants and didn't have his green hat on but still looked very much awake.

"We wanted to check if you were still awake," Popo said quietly. "Which you are…"

"I can't sleep," Toon confessed. He glanced wearily around his room and gave a small sigh. The bed across from his was neatly made and untouched. That was because Ness was sleeping downstairs in the emergency room.

"You want to go visit Ness?" Nana asked quietly. It seemed all three of them wanted to.

"Let's go," Toon Link said.

The three of them headed quietly down the stairs, stepping on the sides that they knew didn't creak from all those hide and seek games they played so long ago.

The trio bumped into Jigglypuff, who was still taking care of the wounded, at the entrance of the infirmary. The pokemon was not happy when she saw them.

"Why are you three out of bed?" she huffed. "What does it take to get you kids to go to sleep? Seriously, I ought to just knock you unconscious right now!" She waved around the thermometer she was holding threateningly.

Nana shrank back, not because she was scared, but because of guilt. They really should be sleeping. "We just wanted to know how Ness was doing," she said quietly.

"We didn't wake anyone up while coming down, promise!" Popo whispered.

Jigglypuff sighed tiredly but her eyes softened when she saw their pitiful faces. "Well, I guess you guys can stay for a few minutes. Just be really quiet. DK and Diddy might wake up."

"Um… will Ness be okay?" Toon Link asked cautiously.

"His current condition's not good," Jigglypuff replied grimly. "I mean, I'm not a doctor. I've only helped out in a pokemon centre now and then, but even I can tell this is bad. However, that being said, I think he'll recover."

"Really?"

"Yup!"

Jigglypuff helped bring them some chairs and they sat by Ness' bed for a while, without talking. Ness really just looked like he was asleep. He was still lying in the same position as hours ago, not moving at all. Nana had to stare hard at the covers to make sure it was rising and lowering, to convince herself that he was still alive.

They must've sat there for half an hour at least when Popo suddenly got off his chair and climbed into the empty bed beside them and pulled the covers over himself.

"Can I just sleep here?" he murmured to no one in particular. Popo buried his nose under the blankets and closed his eyes. "I don't want to go back upstairs…"

Toon Link had fallen asleep leaning over the side of Ness' bed and using his crossed arms as a support for his head. Nana was nodding off herself when she felt Jigglypuff tugging her on the arm and telling her to get into a bed to sleep in. As she obliged, the pokemon draped a blanket over Toon, not having the heart to wake him up.

Nana walked sleepily over to the other side of Popo's bed. She climbed in with him and snuggled close, wanting to know that someone was near before drifting off.


	16. Chapter 15

_Hey guys I'm back! (Can you believe it?) Sorry I've been updating so slowly. I just finished my first semester of university so I finally have some time to write a new chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!_

_And just to make things easier, I'll provide a list of which Smashers are on which team because I know it can get really confusing to follow since the story has so many characters in it. Everything will make sense by the end of this chapter!_

_Lake Team: Bowser, Pit, Red, Falco, Wolf, Sonic, Captain Falcon_

_Ruins Team: Pikachu, Lucario, Samus, Snake, Yoshi, Peach, Zelda, Luigi_

_Mountain Team: Nana, Popo, Ike, Marth, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Toon Link_

_Home Team (injured ones and some that stayed behind): Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Jigglypuff, R.O.B., Ness, Wario, Olimar, Mr. Game and Watch_

_Err... Kidnapped Team: Mario, Fox, Kirby, Link, Lucas_

_And then there's Ganondorf still back in Hyrule._

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

_The third and fourth tournaments came and went in the blink of an eye with the title of champion being earned by new winners one after the next._

_The third had been Fox, who, after activating the landmaster and blowing Captain Falcon out of the pokemon stadium stage, ended the tournament with a triumphant fist raised to the air that received a deafening applause. It was a good thing he won because Falco would never forgive him if he didn't. They had been matched up in the semifinals and Falco had lost after a long, dragged out fight that involved the smash ball appearing three times._

_The fourth had been Donkey Kong. He had a rematch with Pit in the finals and managed the beat the angel again though the battle ended very close. Falco had never really considered Donkey Kong to be someone so formidable before, maybe because of the ape's carefree and somewhat immature personality but after taking the title of the fourth champion, there was no mistaking it. Donkey Kong was just as strong as Bowser with a lot more unpredictable moves which made him dangerous to get close to._

_Before they knew it, the fifth tournament was coming around._

_Falco looked up to see Olimar and Mario walk into the meeting room, chatting about tomatoes. Master Hand had called them for a meeting again, just like before the start of every tournament. Usually, it was to ask for their opinion on how to make the event better though Falco thinks it's more than that this time. Master Hand probably came up with something new again, and Falco hoped it wasn't something crazy._

_As the meeting started, Falco leaned over and whispered to Fox, "So what do you think it'll be about this time?"_

_Fox shrugged. "Who knows," he muttered under his breath. "He'll probably add some more weird items, like banana peels or deadly soccer balls that'll send you to a fiery death."_

"_What about CDs that change the battle music to make the overall experience more awesome and fulfilling? I wouldn't put that past him."_

_They were so busy snickering they almost missed what Master Hand said._

"_Wait, what?" Falco interrupted. "We're gonna be fighting in teams?"_

"_Only for the first two rounds," Master Hand said. "The semifinals and finals will be one on one like always. Weren't you listening?"_

"_Um… just confirming what I heard." Falco leaned back in his chair and blinked a few times in shock. He hadn't expected this. From the looks on the others' faces, he knew they had been taken by surprise too._

"_So I was thinking of everyone being put in groups of three," Master Hand continued. "The battles will be three on three and the team with all its members knocked out of the arena first loses. What do you guys think of it?"_

"_I think it's a great idea," Pit said enthusiastically. Already, people were looking around the room for their friends and making silent agreements to team up._

_Falco had just exchanged a nod with Fox when Master Hand said, "Whoa, whoa, slow down all of you. You haven't finished let me yet. No, don't worry, I'll let you pick the teams…" The groans quickly turned into cheers. "…but you cannot be on the same team as someone else from your world." The cheers died away._

"_Wait, why?" Peach asked._

"_It wouldn't be fair," Master Hand said firmly. "Some of you are used to fighting together already, like Mario and Luigi or Link and Zelda. The first round will be a breeze for those who already use teamwork to win their battles. Besides, I created this to be another exercise for you all to get to know each other better."_

_Falco sighed. Master Hand did the same thing with pairing up roommates. With the exception of the Ice Climbers, the Smashers couldn't share a room with someone who wasn't from the same world as them, which was why Falco bunked with Sonic instead of Fox. _

"_The only ones I am willing to pardon are Nana and Popo but they will count as two team members which means they can only find one more member to be a complete team of three," Master Hand said. "I'm giving you two days to form a group. The fifth tournament will start in three days. Good luck to you all!"_

* * *

The weather was cool the next morning. As he stepped outside, Falco noticed gusts of wind were blowing clouds over the town.

"It's gonna rain," Falco thought. He frowned, remembering the events that had occurred yesterday, and cursed himself for not being there when the group ran into Lucas in the town. Peach and Zelda's grief-stricken expressions after learning of the news had been hard to take in and everyone had seemed visibly upset. Falco had been at a lost for what to feel. Even now, he wasn't sure if the shock had completely worn off and a small part of him still doesn't believe what Crazy Hand told them. It was hard to believe that Fox wasn't coming back; Fox who was the leader of the mercenary group that saved Corneria in the Lylat War and have survived and won countless battles.

He waved Wario over and gestured to the door.

"Are they heading out?" the bulky man asked as he walked over.

Falco nodded. "Yeah. Everyone's gathered in the meeting room. They should be out any minute."

"Then I'm gonna wait here." Wario sat down on the front steps and scratched his nose.

"C'mon, it's not that bad being part of the Home Team," Falco said, leaning against a pillar to the right of the door.

Wario scoffed. "Then why don't you take my place."

Falco couldn't but smirk in amusement. A few hours ago when everyone woke up, they had held a meeting to decide who should go after which charm. A team of people also had to stay behind in the mansion with the injured. Olimar offered to because he could use his pikmins to watch over the entire area surrounding the mansion to ensure that no surprise attack would come. Jigglypuff also volunteered to take care of the people in the infirmary as it was too dangerous for Peach to stay behind because Mario would likely target her. No one else volunteered, so in order for things to go smoothly, Mr. Game and Watch and R.O.B. decided to also stay. When no one offered to take the last spot, Samus forced everyone to draw straws out for it, and it ended up being Wario, who clearly wasn't happy with the decision.

"Hey, Falco."

Falco and Wario turned to see Sonic opening the front door. The hedgehog stepped out with the rest of the lake team behind him. "There you are. We're going to head out," he said.

"Just us?" Falco asked.

"The other teams are right behind us," Pit replied. Sure enough, Falco spotted Smashers on the ruins team and mountain team walking down the main hall to the door with the home team with them. They all gathered outside in the front garden. Even though some of them looked somewhat disheveled and tired from the lack of sleep, Falco could feel the heavy tension and anticipation settling in their midst.

"Maybe we should have some more people stay behind with you five," Samus murmured, looking at the mansion worriedly. "What if primids attack?"

"Samus, don't worry about us," Olimar said. "The enemy will be more focused on trying to stop you guys from getting to the charms. They probably won't even bother with us. Besides, I have pikmins surrounding the entire mansion and they will alert us if anything comes up."

"Yeah," Jigglypuff agreed. "It's you who should be careful. Once they know of our plans, they'll try to stop you every step of the way to the charms."

"Oh, no need to worry about that," Pikachu said. His fur stood straight up, cackling with electricity. "I'd like to see them try. We'll be back in a week's time."

"Take care of the others," King Dedede said. He gave his hammer a twirl. Despite their injuries, he, Meta Knight, Toon Link, and Popo seemed to be doing well enough at the moment. Either their injuries have healed or they were hiding it, Falco wasn't sure.

"Well then… I suppose we should get going," Luigi said. He glanced up at the sky worriedly and adjusted his hat.

A distant rumble of thunder made Falco glance at the horizon. The coming weather wasn't good for traveling, that's for sure, but it somehow seemed to suit the grave situation they were all in.

"I've handed the maps to the mountains to King Dedede," Samus said, taking out a roll up parchment. "And the map to the lake is with Captain Falcon. Now, remember, we need to make sure that the enemies get the message very clearly that we're going for the charms so they'll come after us and leave the mansion alone."

Peach and Captain Falcon nodded in agreement.

"Ruins Team, let's board Samus' gunship." Snake said.

"Meta Knight should be back any moment with his halberd," King Dedede said. He gestured to the mountain team. "We'll depart when he teleports back from Popstar."

"Please be careful," Mr. Game and Watch murmured.

"We will. Take care of Ness, DK, and Diddy," Toon Link replied.

"Toon, I don't like how we're not on the same team," Zelda whispered. "What if Link goes after you?"

"Then I'll stop him," Toon Link said defiantly. "I'd rather he come find me than you, Zelda."

"Why don't you just join the ruins team with us?" Peach suggested.

Toon Link shook his head. "I have to be with Nana and Popo in case Lucas shows up."

Ike patted the small swordsman's head. "Don't worry, Zelda, we'll take care of Toon."

A sudden flash of lightning lit up the sky to their right. Popo gasped and Nana beside him jumped.

"A storm is coming," Marth said. Falco couldn't agree with him more. The first drops have already begun to fall. The clouds were rolling together so fast tremors seemed to be passing through them.

"Meta Knight's coming back," Nana noted, pointing in the direction of the sky stadium where they could see a giant flying battleship appearing in glowing blue light.

"Alright, Lake Team, let's board the Falcon Flyer." Captain Falcon snapped his fingers and a spacecraft rose from the back of the mansion, and flew to beside him in less than two seconds. As Sonic and the others climbed in, Captain Falcon jutted a finger towards his ship and said, "Falco, Wolf, there's enough room in here for your aircrafts."

"Great," Falco replied. "I'll go get my arwing then." He turned to bade the others goodbye when something caught his eye. Another flash of light was shining in the distance and Red, who was beside him, frowned in confusion the same moment Falco realized that the light wasn't lightning. Something was heading towards them through the rain, fast as a bullet.

"_Guys, look out!"_ Falco threw his reflector into the air as it activated and a barrier deflected the laser beams that rained down. It didn't manage to reflect all of them, and the Smashers all hit the ground as the attack punctured holes around them.

Falco looked up in time to see something soar over them. It was an arwing.

Amidst the confusion, Falco could make out Bowser shouting, "There's someone in front of us!" Sure enough, while they attention had been diverted by the air strike, someone had knocked down the gate and was running towards them. Behind him surged a swarm of primids that was approaching fast from the hillside. Falco inhaled sharply. Could it be? The enemy timed their attack with the storm so it'd be harder to fight amidst the confusion?

Zelda was immediately up to confront the army that was led by her protector. Falco could hear her voice over the sound of explosions erupting over the mansion as the arwing circled back and began firing at its roof. "Link! No! Stop!"

Falco saw Link for a second before his attention was forced onto something else. Yoshi who was in front of him was suddenly sent flying away and Falco found himself face to face with Kirby who had appeared out of nowhere. He was instantly knocked to the ground with a blow from Kirby's wooden hammer. Falco blinked furiously, trying to regain his bearings and his eyes focused on Kirby just in time to see a sword pointed at his throat.

_Clang!_

"Meta Knight!" Falco coughed into his sleeve as he stood up. Meta Knight had dropped down from the sky. Literally. Falco looked up to see the huge shadow that he hadn't noticed before looming over the mansion. Meta Knight had come back with his halberd. The two star warriors began engaging in a lightning fast sword fight that Falco could hardly follow with his eyes.

"All teams! Scatter!" Meta Knight yelled. "Lead them away from the mansion!" Lucario, Luigi, and a few others fighting close by heard him and looked over.

"How can we fight them all at the same time?" Peach cried. Mario had yet to show himself but Luigi and Bowser were standing protectively around the princess.

"If you want the enemy to notice that we're going after the charms, now's the best time to leave! Dedede, you drive my battleship. Leave Kirby to me." Meta Knight suddenly flew towards Kirby and threw his cape over the both of them. They disappeared into thin air without a trace.

"Meta Knight!" King Dedede appeared one step too late. He looked around wildly for the two Smashers that vanished. "That fool, where'd he go? He can't take on Kirby by himself!"

"We don't have a choice right now," Falco told the penguin. He was beginning to understand what Meta Knight was trying to do. "Listen, Dedede! Gather the ruins team and head in that direction! Go! If we keep up the fight here, the whole mansion will be destroyed!"

Falco scanned around for other members of the lake team amidst the chaos and confusion. He ran over to where Sonic, Red, Wolf, and Captain Falcon stood and yelled for them to find the other Lake Team members and go on ahead.

"What about you?" Sonic yelled back as he kicked a primid's head off.

The shrill piercing sound of an arwing flying at top speed answered him. Falco looked up to see the ship pass over them again with its lasers pelting down. Most of the smashers responded in time to dodge the beams but some weren't so lucky. A laser beam sliced off one of R.O.B.'s arms and another grazed Snake's leg.

Someone had to stop Fox.

"I'll catch up with you guys as soon as I can," Falco promised. He sprinted into the mansion and headed for the back yard. His heart was hammering at his throat. If what Crazy Hand said was true, then he's the only one who could stop Fox at the moment.

"It's a good thing the attack didn't come after we left," Falco thought. He threw open the door to the back and spotted his arwing sitting where he left it. Jumping into the cockpit, he had it up and in the air in less than a second.

Falco could hear the battle still going on in the front. He flew over the mansion, taking in the sight below. The three groups had split up and the Lake Team was already half way to town. Falco dipped down and rapid fired at the primids chasing after them. He couldn't see Wolf with them and a second later, he found out why when a wolfen streaked across the sky towards the Mountain Team to cover their escape.

Falco suddenly realized that someone had shot an arrow at him. He yelped and spun his arwing, creating a barrier like force field that repelled the attack. Falco landed on the ground and opened his cockpit door.

"Pit, what are you doing?" he demanded.

Pit's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, sorry, Falco! I thought you were Fox! I can't tell the difference between the aircrafts."

"Where is Fox, anyways?" Falco asked, looking around. The Smashers had taken down all of the primids without a problem.

Red shrugged and rainwater dripped down the edge of his cap. His eyes suddenly widened. "Err… I think he's behind you!"

Falco whirled around in time to see Fox's arwing appear in the storm. He ducked as the arwing flew down towards him and saw everyone else also throwing themselves out of the way. The arwing landed on the ground and came to a stop. Falco tensed as the cockpit open and a figure step out into the pouring rain.

"Fox."

The others were beside him immediately but Falco held up his arm, signalling for them to stop.

"Captain, call your Falcon Flyer over and get everyone out of here," Falco said, his eyes not leaving the opponent in front of him. "Just trust me." Sonic shot him a look but no one complained.

"Then we'll wait for you up ahead," Captain Falcon said reluctantly. "I have a tracking device in my ship and I'm sure you also have one in your arwing. We should have no problem finding each other."

"Be careful," Pit whispered.

"If you don't catch up to us in two hours' time, we're coming back," Captain Falcon warned.

Falco nodded silently and didn't move as he listened to the Falcon Flyer taking off and flying away behind him. The other teams were also far away by now. At least, that's what he assumes for he could hardly even make out the mansion in the heavy rain.

Fox still hadn't moved away from his arwing so Falco was hesitant to leave his. He couldn't predict what the other pilot was going to do next. Falco could just make out the pale purple hue that rolled off his leader's body in waves. Could it be that Fox was fighting against the mind control? Crazy Hand had said that it was near impossible for someone to break free but then again, Fox was stronger than most others Falco knew. He could be resisting the shadow bugs. Maybe that was why he wasn't moving.

Falco took a step forward.

"Whoa!"

If his reflexes were any slower, he would've been full of holes. Falco tucked and rolled to his left, almost on instinct, when he saw Fox's hand reach for the blaster. Fox didn't stop shooting and by instinct again, Falco activated his reflector. His eyes widened as he watched the deflected laser beams fly back to his leader and he opened his mouth to yell for him to run.

Almost calmly, Fox swiped his hand across his own reflector and the deflected the beams back to him as if they were playing some dangerous game of hot potato. Falco stumbled away, coughing from the dirt he kicked up.

He looked up to see Fox walking towards him. He raised his own blaster and aimed but Fox kept advancing. Falco hesitated. He knew Fox would deflect the shot for sure, but he still hesitated.

Fox raised his own blaster. As Falco watched his finger slowly curled around the trigger, his mind suddenly blanked out.

"Over here, McCloud."

The two of them turned to see who it was. The wolfen was parked on the ground and its owner was walking towards them, scowling. His fur was matted down from the heavy rain but Wolf's eyes glinted maliciously and Falco was surprised that the Star Wolf leader was glaring at him instead of Fox.

"Wolf, what are you doing here?" Falco asked quietly. "Why aren't you with Captain Falcon and the others that went ahead?"

"Well, if the both of you died, someone had to report it to the others," Wolf sneered. "And frankly speaking, I was hoping that would happen but it doesn't look like it now. Are you just not feeling well today or were you always this weak?"

Falco felt a hot wave of anger beginning to appear. "What's that supposed to mean?" he yelled. "Just get out of here, you're in the way!" This situation wasn't good. He couldn't deal with them both and there was no telling what they would do.

"How do you expect to defeat him with that half ass conviction of yours?" With a swift flick of his wrist, Wolf brought out his blaster and loaded it. "If this is really how you're going to fight, then you're the one who should leave."

"Don't be idiotic, he's fighting to kill!"

A grin stretched across Wolf's face. "I have no problem with that."

Falco stared at the pilot incredulously. "Wait a minute-"

Fox suddenly whirled around to attack again. It caught Falco by surprise and he didn't have time to react for Fox was already upon him, aiming a kick to his head. But then, Wolf, who had materialized between them by using Wolf Flash, grabbed Fox by his collar and threw him back into the air.

"Hmm… sure feels weird to not have McCloud after my throat," Wolf mused. "Must be strange for you too, huh?"

Falco didn't want to admit that the StarWolf leader was right but he hadn't been able to react to that attack just now at all. He couldn't even move. He thought he had been prepared to face his leader since they've fought in tournaments and countless spars in the past but it was different this time.

Fox landed nimbly on his feet and looked up, his golden eyes blank and unblinking. Their eyes met for a second and Falco involuntarily took a step back.

"What should we do?" he asked tensely.

"We beat him up until he can't move."

"Wolf, I'm being serious."

The other pilot gave him an annoyed glance. "I _was_ serious. Whoa!" His eyes widened in surprise when Fox attacked him next. A kick landed on his jaw and Wolf staggered back as blood dripped down the side of his mouth.

"He's aiming for you too," Falco warned.

"No shit," Wolf muttered. "Listen, do me a favour. Board your ship and leave. You're a nuisance."

The StarWolf leader dodged his punch and snarled. ""What are you doing, bird?" Wolf asked, his lips curling. His eyes flickered from Fox to Falco as the three of them stood in an ambiguous three way face-off, unsure of who to trust and ready to attack whoever attacked first.

"_I'm_ the nuisance?" Falco hissed. "You should be the one to stay out of the way. He's most likely to come after me, anyways. Wait a minute…" He looked over to his arwing, ignoring Wolf's grunt of confusion. "That's it!"

Delivering a few shots to catch Fox's attention, Falco leapt into his arwing and took off into the air. Thankfully, the other pilot immediately followed. Falco should've resorted to a dogfight earlier. They were still too close to the mansion. At least this way, he could lure Fox away.

"Hey Lombardi." Falco groaned when he heard Wolf's voice over the transmitter. He looked behind to see the Wolfen behind them. "What're you up to?"

"I'm taking the fight to the sky. We're still too close to town and the mansion was within our range."

"I don't think a dogfight's a good idea," Wolf said. "If you get your arwing damaged-"

Muttering a string of cuss words, Falco leaned over and disconnected the StarWolf leader, immediately feeling his headache beginning to clear. He'll deal with Wolf later. He had to focus on the fight at hand.

A sudden feeling of anticipation flooded through his body like as Falco flew straight up. Turning his ship around, he caught sight of the other arwing veering through the clouds towards him.

Falco took a deep breath and spoke, knowing that his leader could pick up his voice. "Alright, Fox. You want to fight? Then let's do it the way we know best."

* * *

_Haha I know this chapter ended kind of abruptly. I'll try to get the next one up soon! And I wish everyone all the best in the new year._


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